Kayo's Journey
by yummychii
Summary: Reincarnation doesn't care where it throws you. Thankfully, my new family was so crazy they never questioned my behaviour.
1. The Journey's Start

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I, however, own the plot and any OC you encounter throughout this.

 **EDIT: 2017/3/19 - Had to edit the chapters again so I could continue writing. Things were bothering me. Nothing major changed, just tried making things smoother. Grammar and flow.**

* * *

Unlike other people, the life I was living wasn't my first one. It was the second.

Which meant that I was forced to start over. Forced to meet a new family. I didn't mind that I needed to relearn how to control my body again, but loving two new _strangers_ as though they were my _parents_?

No.

Though admittedly, it took me a while to realize that I'd even died in the first place. That wasn't exactly unusual, because after 'waking up again', your first thought isn't: _well, I guess I'm now an infant._ It was more along the lines of: _Where am I? What happened? Why am I blind, deaf, paralyzed? WHAT IS GOING ON?!_

Eventually, I did figure out what was happening. Namely, I'd been reborn. Reincarnated. Which immediately raised the question of, how did this happen? _Why_ did it happen? Was there a sick God who wanted to laugh at my misery? Was it a divine joke? A cosmic accident? It didn't make any sense.

The one question that stood out the most was, why me? I hadn't been anyone important. I'd had a small circle of friends, worked as an office drone. To put it simply, I hadn't done anything memorable. I mostly lounged on my sofa all day long after returning from work, and spent most of my time watching movies and reading manga instead of going out and actually doing something. Hell, I knew more about game characters than my actual friends.

So why had I been damned like this?

Yes, that sounded whiny and pathetic, but at the time, my second life didn't feel like a gift. It was a curse, a tragedy, the cruelest thing I could imagine.

The reason I had so much trouble accepting my new life because I'd died too abruptly. My life had ended too quickly for me to even realise what was happening, too fast for me to even feel regret over all the things I hadn't done yet.

I'd assumed that I was invincible. Not in the literal sense of course, everyone knew they were mortal. But the deepest part of me, the part I hadn't been consciously aware of, had just... assumed I would have years and decades stretching out in front of me to simply find out what my dreams were and realise them.

But I didn't, and it was too much for me to handle. I didn't want to accept this new life. I didn't even want it in the first place, because while it might not have been a glorious one, it had been mine. _My_ parents, _my_ friends, _my_ flat, _mine_.

So I spent every waking moment in denial. In a truly astonishing display of willpower, I rejected this reality and replaced it with my own. In which this was all just a horrible nightmare I would eventually wake up from.

As you could guess, that did not happen.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep ignoring the voices that told me I was alive and not in my old life, the big hands that rocked and patted me so I'd stop crying, and the shadows that always seemed to loom over me. I couldn't ignore the need to eat, to breathe, to _live_.

This caused my denial to turn into overwhelming rage and sorrow. I simply couldn't look the other way anymore. And since my body was utterly _useless_ in providing me an outlet for my emotions, I did the only thing I could do.

I wailed and sobbed, screamed against the injustice of it all. Then I fell asleep from exhaustion, after which I woke up and the cycle started all over again.

Yet no matter how many times I cried, time kept passing, and eventually I just… gave up. I had no more energy to spare. I couldn't remain so furious and full of grief, couldn't drown in my misery forever.

Because I was alive. Confused, scared, angry and sad, but still alive. So without any true reason, without any great revelation, I just let it go. I found my inner zen. I accepted that I was now a baby, that I wouldn't see my loved ones ever again. I made peace with what had happened.

I wasn't someone who was so bitter over the past that it ruined their future. I didn't _want_ to waste my second chance with my bitterness. I didn't want to make the same mistake twice. What I wanted was to live each day as though it was my last.

That didn't mean I stopped being full of sorrow. I'd lost my entire life after all, I was entitled to grieve. However, grieving or not, I was determined to stop being so miserable. Which meant I had to find ways to both distract and entertain myself.

That new resolve led me to entertain myself by observing the two shadows caring for me, to learn more about them out of need. Yes, I knew they were my new 'parents, but while I mostly didn't feel resentful towards them anymore, that didn't mean I could simply accept them as replacements. I already had a mum and dad, even if they were forever lost to me. I didn't need nor want new ones. But there was a problem that stopped me from fully learning about them. Two actually.

I was practically blind, only able to make out colourless blobs, and my hearing was so wonky I might as well had been called deaf. Which meant observing them was kind of difficult, if not impossible. Which led to another problem.

I got bored.

My mood improved _immensely_ once I'd regained my vision. Even if it only upgraded from the colourless blobs to actually seeing _colours_. Specifically, the colour red. I was truly and ridiculously happy about this.

My rebirth taught me to appreciate the small things in life.

My vision improved with leaps and bounds after that. Which meant life for my caretakers, both of whom had unbelievably vivid red hair that my awful eyesight could easily catch, became much easier as well, seeing as I stopped crying so much from the sheer boredom I'd been feeling.

As the days passed by, I was able to interact more with my caretakers. And as they started to play and cuddle with me, I saw how they so obviously adored me and _loved_ me…

It caused me to start loving them in return. They weren't my old parents, and they never would be. But they were my parents nonetheless, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I was truly happy. I even started smiling again.

It seemed that the more positive my outlook became, the more the universe rewarded me, because it soon returned my ability to hear. Slowly, the incomprehensible buzzing around me gained tone, distinction, and clarity. When that happened, I discovered the family in which I had been reborn into spoke Japanese.

I'd really lucked out in that department, given that I'd studied the language in college. Still, even with my knowledge of the language, it was hard at first. My ears still had that annoying buzzing in them.

Accompanying this development was new information. I learned that my new name was Uzumaki Kayo. It was written with the kanji for _beautiful_ and _gift_. Well, I assumed it was at least, seeing as my parents kept using those two words as endearments. And yes, part of why I liked it was pure vanity. It was nice to have a name that literally meant you were precious.

I also found out that babies have built in sensors to locate where their parents were, because whenever the two got closer to me, I could actually feel them in all their warm and fuzzy glory. I started associating the feeling with security and comfort, and it made me even more open towards them. Although I got a bit confused when I was able to feel this warmness coming from a guest as well. As long as they were right in front of me at least, but I just chalked it up to my new and mysterious baby powers.

It was nice to always have an inkling of where everyone was in our house. It always ensured a source of entertainment for my easily distracted brain, because my parents were very… quirky. It was fun to imagine what they might be doing when they were in different parts of the house. Although when I could see them, and thus, they could see me, they always took their quirkiness to a whole new level.

For instance Subaru, my father, had a habit of kidnapping me from my mother, Hinomi. It was honest kidnapping. He literally ran away with me as my mother chased after him while yelling that _you're stealing_ ** _my_** _child, you bastard!_ My father just cackled in response.

As I said, quirky. Especially because, while my parents did fight over the silliest of things, the rest of the time they acted like love-struck teenagers.

So whenever I got kidnapped by him, I always laughed with pure delight. Not just because of the hilarity of the situation, but because my father's running speed was absolutely dizzying in the best of ways, making my stomach tingle like mad. It was amazing as much as it was bewildering. I guess their running probably just seemed unnaturally fast because of my infant body. My senses weren't fully developed after all.

After escaping from mother, my father would walk around the village for _a change of scenery_ as he loved to put it. In truth he was just showing his only daughter off to his friends. _Look at my daughter, isn't she precious? Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen? She rolled to her stomach yesterday! Isn't she a little genius?_

And at first, the people he brought me to see had been mostly amused. But when he just kept doing this, over and over again, they turned exasperated. _At least she looks like her mother,_ was one of the most frequent things I'd hear from them. My father would just laugh, childishly stick out his tongue, and keep beaming with pride.

Really, it was enough to give anyone an ego. I didn't need to do anything, and I was still held up by my parents like I was the most wonderful thing to ever exist. It caused my love for them to grow.

The trips out into the town were fun and interesting for other reasons too. After I slowly began to be able to see further and further away, I saw people jumping across _roofs_.

I was fairly convinced I wasn't living on Earth. Not just due to the people running across the rooftops, but also because of the people themselves. More specifically, the fact that the _overwhelming_ majority of people I saw had bright red hair and a veritable rainbow of eye colours. They also spoke a bastardised version of japanese.

Honestly, it felt like I'd landed in an anime.

Later I would look back at this thought and laugh about it. But right now, it was nothing more than a fleeting musing, soon discarded for much more interesting things.

Seriously, I had the attention span of a goldfish. I was blaming my infant body for that.

My parents were also endlessly amused by my curiosity when I started exploring our house after I learned how to crawl. Then they started freaking out when they realised just how many sharp edges the tables had, how the stairs were a deathtrap all by themselves, and that was without even mentioning their reaction to the cleaning products after they saw me opening the cupboards with my tiny hands.

I wouldn't eat any of the poisonous products of course, no matter how often I had the irrational urge to put, well, everything inside my mouth. Baby instincts at their finest. I usually satisfied them by slobbering on my own fist.

Hey, I was a baby, I didn't need to be dignified in any way.

And so, our home was swiftly child-proofed. Well, it was mostly child-proofed, because one of the oddest things about our house? I found knives lying around. Not kitchen knives, but kunai. As in, actual weapons.

An even odder thing? Every time, and I meant _every_ time, I found dangerous objects, not just kunai, mother or father would magically pop out of nowhere and gently take it from my hands. It was both incredibly amusing and fascinating. I literally could not grab anything sharp without them knowing. Same with trying to climb the stairs, trying to sneak out of the gardens, or trying to hide random things that were deemed too dangerous for me.

No matter where I was, no matter where my parents were, they _always_ knew what I was doing. And the fuzzy, warm feeling I'd grown used to? It only grew in intensity whenever I did get myself into some minor mischief. I got the feeling it would be impossible to hide anything from these two.

I was starting to suspect that whatever world I'd ended up in might have _magic_. If that wasn't wonderful and amazing, I didn't know what was.

My parents soon grew impatient about me not speaking, and made a bet about me saying my first words as a way to spice things up. The bet itself wasn't unusual, but they kept bringing it up. Not a day passed by without them mentioning it, and the longer I kept quiet, the more heated they got. Not in a fighting kind of way, but in a way that said this was Very Serious Business.

They reminded me of a comedy act, except this one never ended.

For example, one time they'd spent an entire afternoon arguing about it as they were cooking dinner. The heated conversation somehow led to an all out food wa, and by the end, _everything_ was covered in our dinner. The thrown rice was sticking on the ceiling, oil dripping down from the walls, vegetables sticking out from my mother's hair, meat dropping out of my father's dark blue trousers. Both of them were as white as ghosts as well, courtesy of the flour. In fact, there was only one single thing that hadn't been covered in food.

Me.

 _Nothing_ of that entire mess had touched me.

I was in awe.

The best part about this entire thing was that my continued silence was only making their ridiculousness rise to incredible, astonishing, positively _beautiful_ heights. Really, it was impossible to be bored with parents like these.

The fact that I had a hand in this made me incredibly happy. You see, my zen-like state had turned me into something of a troll. I always had a slight mischievous streak, but now it was so much more than that. It was a need I couldn't deny. I didn't want to either.

Besides, this bet was too hilarious for me to pass up on.

"C'mon Kayo-chan. Say _Kaa-chan_!" my mother cooed, and I gave her an unimpressed look when she poked my cheeks. Her smile dropped and her head hung low, gloomy and despairing in a completely over dramatic way. It almost made me want to laugh.

But in order to get what I wanted, I needed to keep my act up.

So I humphed and ignored her, then turned my gaze to father. He glowed when I looked at him with a sweet smile, practically beaming with an internal light. A part of me wondered whether or not he actually was. He was just so… _sparkly_.

"See, Hinomi? She loves _me_ more. Isn't that right, honey?" he asked while taking out a handful of candy from his pocket. My eyes flashed with triumph, something my mother didn't fail to notice.

I was craving sweets, and my father was always willing to indulge.

Father flashed a smug smirk at my mother when my smile widened. Although to his visible surprise, my mother smirked back just as smugly. I had learned this sweet smile from her after all, you would think her husband would recognise it by now.

I clumsily took hold of the candy and brought it up to my mouth to suck on the soft dough, savouring the delicious taste. My parents seemed on edge as they waited for me to finish my tiny dessert, with mother watching father as he smiled encouragingly at me.

But I'd lost interest in them shortly after the last sugar drop vanished from my mouth. I turned my back and crawled to my toys. The result of my small action was a teary eyed father sobbing quietly in despair, and a grinning mother cackling in pure glee.

Pure comedy gold.

Eventually, my parents stopped trying to coerce me into talking every day. There were even some days when they no longer brought up the bet.

After an entire week had passed without them mentioning it, within my hearing at least, I decided now was the perfect time to strike.

I now had the element of surprise.

I moved my jaw to test my mouth, and ran my tongue over my tiny front teeth. I hummed a couple of times to test my vocal chords, and when I deemed it safe to speak, I did so without hesitation, no matter that my parents weren't near. They had supernatural hearing after all.

" _Uw-suw-ma-ki!_ " I said our family's name very slowly and carefully, trying not to mess up any syllables. I was both proud and amazed at how well I'd managed to articulate, because infant mouths weren't exactly made for clear speech.

A loud crashing sound echoed throughout the house, and judging from the noise, one of my parents had just dropped some plates. As expected, this was followed by both of them materializing out of nowhere and staring down at me in utter astonishment, their jaws slack.

"Did she just..." my father trailed off in a stunned voice, while mother burst into delighted laughter. I was so proud of myself.

"She did!" she lifted me in her arms and threw me upwards, "Her first word, and our family name to boot!" she gleefully exclaimed as I giggled like mad. Not just from the happiness I felt from their words, but also because of the butterflies in my stomach caused by being thrown into the air. The buzzing excitement under their skins only helped my giggles become louder.

After that, because my parents always made a big deal out of everything, we had a huge party involving dancing, yelling, laughing, and two ripped open pillows to twirl through the feathers. The party ended with a very bizarre artwork painted on the outside of our house. Well, paint wasn't really the correct word. Most of it was made by a mixture of crayons and blood.

It wasn't in a self mutilating kind of way, they just bit their thumbs and added a little blood to the entire thing as they were drawing it. It had actually glowed for a split second before showing the actual painting. I, of course, didn't question it, just attributed it to the magic I was now pretty convinced existed here. Curious or not, I'd only end up getting a headache if I tried to find a logical explanation behind all of their supernatural abilities. Though I was hoping very, very, _very_ much that I'd be able to use magic too. Still, first things first. Like learning to talk. And walk.

Later, after the cleanup was finally finished, my father took me out again and told everyone about what I had done. He kept coaxing me to repeat the act, which I did, because I liked the pure joy the people here showed over the simplest of things. Generally speaking, everyone here was always in a good and cheerful mood. They were also crazy in the best of ways.

My parents might be wacky, but given some of the things I'd seen when being carried through town, I was pretty sure they were considered normal in this place.

I absolutely adored it.

Honestly, after I managed to get out of my depression, life just became better and better.

Then I turned one year old.

My birthday party was, as expected, a Very Big Deal to my parents. I definitely wasn't complaining.

It was also when I was introduced to the very first infant I'd ever interacted with. No, really, the very first. I'd seen babies in my previous life, obviously, but no one in my immediate circle of friends had children. Which meant I hadn't ever needed to interact with one. Until now that was, because one of the guests invited over held a tiny infant in her arms. More specifically, a red haired woman was holding her red haired daughter, who I was expected to play with.

I was very wary and hesitant about this. After all, I literally knew nothing about infants. Well, I knew things like _babies drink milk_ and _they poop in diapers_ , and a few other things I'd learned from being one myself. Like how bright colours were ridiculously distracting and how teething was an absolute _bitch_.

So, no relevant experience with babies, and now here was one as a guest to my birthday party. One I would be expected to play with.

The fact that, after mother carried me closer to the infant, the very first thing the baby did was to take a handful of my own bright orange hair and yank at it did not help my apprehension. And of course, the second thing the baby did was jam the hair held inside her tiny fist into her own mouth.

How was I supposed to play with this strange creature?

Fortunately, this wasn't a question I had to ponder for long. Unfortunately, the reason for that was because I received information that temporarily broke my brain.

"Let's put Kayo-chan and Kushina-chan down in the playcorner." my mother said with a bright smile. The woman holding the infant said something in return, but I couldn't understand it as my brain crashed to a halt.

I stared at the little girl, utterly frozen. I was barely aware of her laughing loudly, of my mother putting me on the carpet as she continued her conversation with the woman, who was placing the infant down as well. The baby named Kushina. The small, red haired, grey eyed baby, who was called _Kushina_.

Except Kushina should be a common name, right? It couldn't be the same Kushina, right? It was just a coincidence, right?

 _Right?_

Oh who was I kidding, this was Kushina. The baby looking at me with huge eyes, the baby who had grabbed hold of my hair again so she could slobber all over it, who kept trying to reach for my hair with a pout as I pulled away, was _Uzumaki Kushina_.

I did the only possible thing I could do in response to this revelation.

I cried and sobbed, completely losing it because _this was Uzumaki Kushina_.

And suddenly so many things fell into place. The headbands my parents wore, the spiral symbol on it, their seemingly superhuman abilities. The knives, _kunai_ , laying around the house. How my parents always knew when I grabbed one. The people jumping across roofs. It was suddenly so obvious, and I couldn't understand how I'd missed this.

Except of course I had, because who the hell ever expects to be reborn in a freaking _manga?_ No one, that was who, so of course I hadn't made the connection.

But now I did. Now it all made sense, and I had to face the facts.

I was an Uzumaki. I was living in Uzushiogakure, the village hidden by whirling tides.

And it hurt, it hurt so much, it was _terrifying_ , because all these people were going to die. My parents were going to die, all their friends would die, all the people that had come here to celebrate my birthday would die. Everyone would die. _I_ was going to die.

Again.

I'd promised myself to live my life with no regrets, and I was going to die again. Soon.

So I cried. There wasn't anything else I could do. It made Kushina immediately start bawling her eyes out as well.

That's how our mothers found us as they came rushing back. Wailing loudly and being a general mess of snot and tears. We put babies to shame, and the fact that we were still infants ourselves was completely irrelevant. I hadn't cried like this since the first weeks I'd finally figured out just what had happened to me. In fact, I was pretty sure I hadn't even cried like this even then.

I'd tried so hard to focus on living in the now that I hadn't really cared about where I was. I hadn't connected the name Uzumaki to the manga because, what, you think that was something your mind automatically did? That it'd just go: _oh, I guess I was reborn in a freaking fictional world!_

No. No it did not.

So I screamed. Huge, gasping sobs escaping me while snot flew everywhere. In short, I had a mental breakdown. Because zen like state or not, this was…

Really, I'd have been more worried if I hadn't had some kind of breakdown.

As my mother picked me up and I continued my hysterical crying on her shoulder, I realized that it would take a lot of work to work through this breakdown, to start thinking about the future and what I would, should, _could_ do with my future knowledge. But I would work through this.

I'd promised myself I wouldn't have any regrets in this life and I intended to keep that promise.

No matter what.

* * *

 **Interlude 1: Kushina meets Kayo:**

They liked the pretty colour, it was so bright! So bright and light and different than the colour of their big people!

They tried to catch the pretty colour, but the little less big person moved, and the pretty colour moved, and they couldn't catch it! They didn't like that. But then the little less big person came closer, and they could catch the pretty colour!

They wanted to taste the colour. They thought it would taste _sparkly_.

The little less big person made a noise as they caught the pretty colour. This little less big person was strange, a little less big than normal big. This little less big person was even being carried by another big person! Like them! Except they weren't being carried by a big person, they were being carried by _their_ big person.

They liked their big people the most, but they liked the little less big person almost as much as their big people. Because the little less big person's colour was so bright! And they caught it!

They tasted the colour. It didn't taste sparkly, it tasted _tingly_. Like the colour of their big people, but not, because their big people's colour tasted tingly and tinkly, and this bright colour was _only_ tingly.

The little less big person let out another noise and moved, and the colour moved, and they couldn't taste it! They didn't like that. But then the big person holding the little less big person made sounds, and they heard the sound that meant them! They liked that sound.

"– _Kushina-chan_ –"

They laughed. Their big person looked at them and smiled, and they laughed more, because they liked it when their big people smiled. Then their big person made sounds, and there was the sound that meant them!

"– _Kushina-chan_ –"

They laughed, and their big person laughed too, and they felt happy and bright and _tingly_. They felt like the little less big person's colour!

Then their big person put them down, and they didn't like that. Then the big person put the little less big person down too, and they could catch the tingly colour!

They tasted the tingly colour.

Then the little less big person moved, and the colour moved, and they didn't like that, and they tried to catch it, but is was so far! They couldn't catch it! They wanted to catch the colour, so they kept reaching, but it kept being so far, and they couldn't catch it!

Then the little less big person cried.

They didn't like that sound. They didn't like that sound _at all._ So they cried too, because they wanted the sound to stop, but the little less big person cried harder and the sound became louder, so they cried harder because they wanted the sound to stop!

Then their big person picked them up and made nice sounds, and even though the little less big person was still crying, they stopped crying, because they were with their big person, who was making nice sounds, and they liked that. Their big person always made them feel better, and they knew their big person would make the bad sounds stop, because that's what their big people did.

They liked their big people the most.

* * *

AN/ Well, here it is. Hope you've enjoyed chapter one! Any kind of criticism is welcome :p

Loeka and Sachiko13 are the ones who beta'ed. The Interlude is done by Loeka as well. I really couldn't have done this without them.

Many thanks to my lovely reviewers for helping me with things.


	2. The First Steps

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I, however, own the plot and any OC you encounter throughout this.

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I eventually calmed down because of my mother's comforting words. It reminded me of the many times she'd done this, but whereas this had once made me wail louder, it was now a much needed warm and familiar gesture.

Honestly, I didn't feel bad about crying. It didn't take more than mere seconds for my whole world to turn entirely upside down, so I had every right to cry and feel upset and have a mental breakdown.

Although seeing the still ruddy Kushina drooling all over her mother's shoulder, a person who was never mentioned in any way or form in the series, gave me the opportunity to really study them. To completely accept what had happened, because a part of myself longed for to denial. It wanted to go back to living life as it was, smiling and laughing like any normal human being brimming with life.

I couldn't do that, not again. Because this wasn't a fictional world anymore. I was currently breathing and living and _feeling_.

Eventually, after both Kushina and her mother had left, I managed to contain my mental outburst by burying my face in my mother's neck. Judging from the fact that mother started humming nonsensical, yet very soothing tunes, it looked like I didn't exactly succeed.

At least I managed to keep myself from bursting into another hysterical crying fit, that was a huge achievement right there.

My father, who'd appeared only moments after my mother had picked me up, joined us on the sofa. He started kissing my tiny palms and nuzzling my nose while making silly faces to make me smile.

I couldn't stop the tears from falling.

These were my parents, and theyー _we_ were Uzumaki living in Uzushiogakure.

Uzushiogakure, which would be destroyed sometime in the near future.

I'd already promised myself to do something about the massacre, but my I just couldn't come up with something that could help. It wasn't that simple, and there was the fact that the manga hadn't ever mentioned who, or what, would attack us. It only had the end result of our home getting razed to the ground, just because of our affinity for sealing.

Even with my mind being empty, however, I knew for sure that if I started saying things like _Uzushiogakure is going to be destroyed, we need to evacuate everyone,_ it wouldn't be believed. Not from the mouth of a child.

Anything I say or do would probably be dismissed as nonsense at best, or it could label me as mentally retarded. That was unacceptable. I couldn't risk my warnings being waved away just because I was so young.

But looking at my mother and father made me certain about one thing. I wasn't going to sit idly by and do nothing about this. I had to drop hints at the very least. I didn't want to regret keeping this to myself. This knowledge could save our entire village, so I could only pray that my parents would believe me when I tell them.

They had to.

The rest of the evening passed by with my parents doing their best to cheer me up. While this helped in some ways, it also made it so much worse. Because these were my parents, and I loved them so much, and they…

They _couldn't_ die. Please, _please_ don't let me lose them. They had to keep being quirky and arguing about everything and anything while acting like silly children. I had to do something to insure they would live.

After a while, my tiny body decided that enough was enough. So without any warning whatsoever, thanks to my body, I promptly fell asleep. But in this particular case, I didn't mind having the needs of a small toddler. I didn't want to think anymore. I just wanted to be.

For the next week, all my interest in what my parents were doing was gone. I just kept trying to come up with how I would warn them. My parents noticed my awful mood, of course, and tried to earn my attention by doing faces and bribing me with candy. While it didn't hold my attention for long, it did make me crack a smile. Each little grin was celebrated wildly by my parents, my father twirling my mother around, before doing the same to me. It eventually made a small giggle escape.

A loud, dramatic sigh got me to tilt my head to the side right after I somehow returned to gazing at the walls. My father's shoulders were hunched while his head hung low. He made his way to the empty seat next to me, which now fully earned the attention he was yearning.

"I guess it's time to visit your cousin."

I instantly perked up when I heard the word _cousin_ escape his mouth, because that was certainly news to me. The only people I knew were some friends of the family, Kushina, and her mother. But… he said _visit_ not _meet_. Maybe my cousin was one of the people I'd assumed were only guests visiting us?

"Indeed, it's been _so_ long." My mother's smirk could be heard as she talked, and with that comment, my parents managed to pull me out of my depressing thoughts, if only for a little while.

After an entire week of mentally freaking out, I was starting to realize I couldn't keep up this state of mind, just like I hadn't been able to stay angry forever.

So whatever cousin I was going to meet offered a distraction that I was very willing to take, at least for now. With that decision, I held up my arms towards my father.

"Carry me!" I demanded him, puffing my cheeks out for extra cuteness.

Instead of me finding myself in my father's arms, it was my mother who stole me off the sofa with lightning fast movement. I shrieked at suddenly being tossed upwards, even as a grin grew on my face from the butterflies that blew up in my stomach. Father shot mother the stink eye after she caught me, though it was ruined by the way his lips kept trying to twitch upwards.

"She asked _me_ , you know." he grumbled. Mother merely gave him a smug look and proudly got me ready to be taken out of the house. However, the moment she opened the front door, father swooped in and snatched me right out of her arms, before swinging me up to his shoulders. Mother's indignant protests were greeted by father sticking his tongue out at her.

I really loved them. So much.

I forced myself to get distracted before I could start freaking out again. The distraction itself was in the form of small questions, like whether my cousin was a boy or a girl and from which side of the family we were related.

Unfortunately, those questions weren't enough to keep my mind from starting to return to the endless loop of how to prevent the massacre, so I lifted my head up to let my still developing brain find new things to disturb that loop.

There were the kids running around, laughing happily as they threw star shaped papers at their 'enemies'. The adults, who were conversing with one another, were all wearing a cloth with a metal plate inscribed with our village's symbol.

Suddenly, a bright light caught my attention, and my sight travelled even higher. I was silent for a few moments as I watched people blurring across rooftops, and pre-teens playing tag. Tag that involved fire and dulled knives.

I was such an idiot. Seriously, how had I not noticed that before?

Maybe a part of me just hadn't wanted to.

I didn't realize I was shaking until my mother plucked me from my father's shoulders. She rubbed my back as a way to calm me down, and I took a moment to relish in her warm hug. I didn't want to have another breakdown today. It would make my parents worry even more, and might make them decide to go back home. But I really wanted to meet my cousin, so I kept repeating my mother's words with each calming breath I took until I couldn't feel the tears that threatened to fall anymore.

 _Everything's fine_.

With another deep breath, I dragged my eyes across the garden we were now walking through. It was obvious that they were being taken care of by a professional, since the flowers and the colours could make even the toughest of men take a moment to appreciate it. While the house in the middle was big, it was enough for a medium sized family at most.

"We're here!" mother yelled out instead of knocking when we were at the front door. In that moment of inattention, father managed to steal me back from her arms. Naturally, this caused another storm of protests from mother and a very pleased expression from father.

My amusement morphed into shock the instant the door opened, because the person who opened it was Kushina's smiling mother. Tiny Kushina was in her arms, and curious eyes immediately locked onto my hair. Her small hands came up and made grabby gestures towards it.

My confusion over the fact that Kushina was my actual blood related cousin didn't go away as we were led inside the house after my parents exchanged greetings with Kushina's mother.

Then, Kushina's mother turned to me with a sweet smile that was so inviting, it made me forget all of my worries for a split second.

"Hello there, Kayo-chan." she greeted, her voice smooth and kind. I nodded as my hands tightened around my father's jacket. Huh, I hadn't even noticed I was clutching at his jacket in the first place.

Maybe if I hadn't still been struggling with the bombshell that was... my entire situation in general really, I might've had an easier time dealing with the fact that Uzumaki Kushina was my cousin. As it was, my brain just kept going, _nope, can't help you, you're on your own_.

What a nice brain it was.

After staring some more at the tiny infant, something clicked in my mind like a puzzle piece finding its own place. I couldn't make the connection the other day, as I hadn't been in the right mind to process anything. But now that I looked closer at her, I couldn't help but open my mouth in awe.

Kushina was still a baby. She was still _young_.Young meant the massacre wouldn't happen as soon as I'd assumed, it meant that it'd happen _years_ from now. Young meant I had time!

This was literally the best thing to ever happen to me.

It caused a full blown smile, with teeth and gum, to split my face. I stretched myself to pat Kushina's fiery red hair in pure joy, and she let out a happy gurgle, which made my smile to become even bigger.

The adults relaxed and then left us in the bright and colorful room. However, as soon as my eyes fell on the little girl, I realized that not crying was a bad idea.

I was now alone with Kushina, with no one to keep the little girl's company but me, someone who doesn't have any idea what to do with a toddler. But that small worry was nothing to the giddy joy I was still overwhelmed by. Because I had the time to come up with a decent plan, time to find a way to fix this.

I eyed the tiny Kushina as my smile continued to strain my facial muscles in the best of ways. She cutely tilted her head to the side, before happily crawling my way.

My smile only dropped when she halted right next to me. From this angle, Kushina wasn't so tiny anymore. The benefits of being an infant myself.

She tried to climb on me, grey eyes unwaveringly fixed on my hair. She probably wanted to drool all over it, or yank at it like yesterday. Or both. I automatically put a hand over her head to stop her from getting any closer when that thought crossed my mind.

What did people even _do_ with children? My parents always made silly faces and bribed me with sweets to make me say random words. Well, Kushina was smiling so I didn't think I really need to do anything. Maybe I just should sit and let her run her drool over me? But, well, it was _drool_.

On the other hand, Kushina's very existence as an infant had just given me a gift that made me deliriously happy.

So yeah, I did kind of want to… reward Kushina for being an infant, I supposed.

Something rustled in my pocket when Kushina tried to push back against my hold. The sound was very familiar, and my free hand found itself searching for the wrapped goodies. Kushina protested, but her attention was soon taken by the colourful candy.

When I deemed it safe that Kushina wasn't going to tug me down anymore, I slowly let go of her head to unwrap the paper. Hopefully, it'd take a while for her to finish eating it. Maybe she'd completely forget about drooling over my hair as a bonus.

"Kushina, here." I said, grabbing her small hands and putting the candy in her palms.

She was already munching on them by the time I sat further. My eyes bulged when I noticed how messily she was eating. Her clothes were ruined, slobber falling freely on the white fabric. She was also licking her hands when the sugar got stuck on them.

I made a face, and thanked all the stars in the sky that I had enough motor skills to not do that to myself. Controlling pudgy hands was hard, so I could happily say I was proud of my control over my body.

The door suddenly opened to reveal my mother, who froze in her place at the sight of Kushina and I.

"Kushi-chan, no!" Hinomi exclaimed, jumping towards her with a handkerchief. I gulped audibly when my mother frowned at me. I wanted to apologize. It was a bad idea on my part to give a kid sticky food, but I couldn't when my mother snorted when her handkerchief stuck to the toddler's face. That snort turned into uncontrollable laughter. The noises attracted my father into the room, and he too started cackling. Kushina joined in after a second.

My mother sighed and wiped a tear and I blinked. I thought she'd scold me.

"Koyume!" my mother called out. Footsteps soon were heard, and the soft voice of Kushina's mother filled the room.

"What is it, Hinomi?" My mother didn't have to reply, because she only had to move to the side to reveal Kushina, and her now bright and and colourful, formerly pink dress. I grimaced again the mess she'd made. Everything was still splattered nicely on the floor, but Kushina didn't give it any mind, and only stretched out her arms so the older woman could lift her up. Her mother shook her head fondly.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Koyume said, leaving me with my mother. Dad padded towards me and lifted me up.

"Sorry." I apologized, and counted my lucky stars when she sighed and got up to pat my head.

"It's alright, but next time try to avoid doing that. Sugar for Kushi-chan… isn't a good idea, even if it was entertaining. You're allowed to share sweets with her, but it'll be better if an adult was around." she explained, and I nodded in understanding. Kushina looked like a loud and energetic child. It made sense now that I actually thought about it.

"Anyways! It's time to go home." my dad said. I was confused for a second because I didn't feel like we've been here for that long, but glancing at the childishly decorated window told me it was nighttime already. I answered by clinging tighter to my father's neck.

"See you later, Koyume!" my mother exclaimed after she popped her head into a room when we entered the hallway. "Thanks for having us here today."

"Come back tomorrow, I'm sure Kushina-chan will be happy to see Kayo-chan again." Kushina's mother said, and I shuddered. Coming back meant more Kushina, which also meant spending another day with a baby.

...But it wasn't that bad. I could get used to this. Plus, Koyume seemed nice, and Kushina was a growing child, who still had a lot of learning to do. Heck, I still needed to learn how to function in this world. I couldn't force myself to think and come up with a plan for the future, I needed more time.

And time was the only thing I had for now.

 **. . . . .**

A year had passed since the day I'd 'met' my cousin. After many visits, Kushina had grown on me like a fungus. A really cute fungus. An adorable troll-ish fungus.

Yeah, Kushina was a troll. The fact that she couldn't really understand everything yet made it all the more hilarious. She was a natural, who was a menace to Koyume's neighbours. Even if Koyume never let Kushina out of her sight, the toddler always found a way to bullshit someone.

One time she even managed to make shop clerk think he was growing an extra finger, and the poor clerk used a shunshin, presumably to visit the hospital. How she managed that, I would never know. Which was why I started loving the little child like my own sister. Hey, we trolls had to stick together. The feeling of having my own sibling was great as well

I'd also found out that the round headed girl was related to me from my father's side of the family, since Koyume was his younger sister. It explained the resemblance they had, at least. As for Kushina's father, he was unfortunately dead. They never told me how, so I'd decided to leave it.

Anyways, that wasn't the only thing they shared, because their cooking too, was heavenly. A trait of the family, they said. I believed them without even giving it any thoughts, since dad's culinary skills were becoming better and better as the weeks went by. That meant more candy for me to stuff my cheeks with. He made them enough times for me to memorize the recipe.

He normally made new candy every two weeks. Our house always smelt like butter and sugary sweetness due to that, and it never failed to remind me of the witch's candy house in Hansel and Gretel. And just like the old witch, we sometimes found children straying from their paths towards us.

Honestly, I don't think only kids loved them. Dad always had to make two batch to put on the window. He'd said it was for the busy ninja who pass by our house. It me wonder why he hadn't opened a store and quit his Ninja job yet.

The amount of money they were spending to take care of the house and buy me my essential items, plus toys, would have made a normal person assume they always did missions so we wouldn't go bankrupt. But they actually don't. It was perplexing, honestly.

They weren't telling me, probably thinking I wouldn't understand… or just forgot about it. I really wanted to know, though. My curiosity was eating me from the insides.

I pouted, sitting on the floor in our living room as I remembered that. Dad chuckled at the face I was making.

"Do you want me to get you something, Kayo-chan?" he asked, putting his book on the side of the table after bookmarking it. I looked up at him just as Mum leaned on the kitchen's door to see what was going on.

"Otou-chan, where are we getting our money from? You two only babysit." I blurted out my question, and then slapped my pudgy hands over my blabbering mouth. After a second I realized such actions were futile, so I crossed my arms as my pout returned with a vengeance. "I want to know."

Mother went back to the kitchen, most likely to turn off the stove, and returned to sit next to dad after taking me off the floor on her way to the sofa. I made myself comfortable between my parents, happy and excited that they were finally going to explain. My father grabbed me before I could do so and settled me on his thigh, while my mother took a handful of my hair to comb it with her fingers after she dried her hands.

"Well," Subaru started, scratching his stubby chin. "we have a lot of money sitting under our name in the bank, so even if we don't work for a while we'd still have enough to live by for several years." I nodded my head. "Our village gives us money too, and all of those privileges are because we are new parents."

"Oh," I let out a sound. What he said didn't register in my mind until Hinomi tugged at the end of the braid she'd made. "Um, what does that mean?" He chuckled and tapped my nose, then mother grabbed my head, gently tilting it backwards so our eyes could meet.

"Since you were born, we had a two years time off so we could raise you, but don't worry, we'll repay our village in no time!" she exclaimed and poked my cheek. "Why do you think Subaru-kun and I teach and babysit? That's what we have to do during the two years. We take care of other ninja children until our two years are up, and then even you'll have to be babysat by other people until theirs is up too. But it's still really fun though! Little children are so cute!" my mother said, going off topic near the end. I nodded at the new information, slightly dejected that their free time was going to become preoccupied in about four months, judging from my own age of course.

I looked at my dad so he could continue. Once my mother started talking enthusiastically about something, it was better to let her finish. He smiled towards my mother and then turned his smile at me.

"We can't get an extension. We're a small clan, so active ninja are needed in order to keep it running. But, at the same time, adults _need_ to raise their children. A small neglection could turn into a disaster for everyone. Remember the time when everyone at the plaza were running in terror? That was because of a toddler losing his parents amidst the crowd." he said, and mum paused mid-sentence once she heard that. She abruptly started laughing until she turned red and blue. I was almost worried when her face started turning purple, but then I remembered that this was a normal occurrence.

I honestly couldn't say anything as my dad continued explaining under mother's laughter. I knew the ninja world was a very dangerous place, so a village shouldn't even give a lot of families time off at the same time. Twenty families will give birth to a child, rarely twins, and that meant, if the families had both parents present, those forty ninja were off duty. But at the same time, the village could benefit from the situation since those forty people would help the civilians whenever possible. Babysitting the two year old children, whose parents had to go back to taking missions, and running the shops plus overlooking trading. Maybe clean the shores and helping with building new houses.

Also, there wasn't any ninja academy. Those forty ninja? They use the Uzukage mansion at the center of the village as a meeting place. They make rounds around our homes, take the four year old children, and teach them there with civilians. You could say it was like a cram school more so than an actual school.

"Why go through all of that pain? Wouldn't it be better to just… hire people instead of going through all of that trouble?" I asked, tilting my head to the side with a frow. It was a bit confusing. What I'd asked made sense to me. Why didn't they build an actual academy for us kids? Wouldn't that be easier?

Hinomi grinned, evilly looking down at me. I leaned forward towards her in anticipation. Whenever she had that look, it meant her answer was going to be an amazing one.

"Uzumaki children need a lot of work." she said in one breath, grinning down at me even more widely because of my expression. I thought what Subaru had said was confusing, but this made my brain go on a full stop before kicking back into gear.

"Huh?" I intelligently let out once her words were processed. Was… was that really the reason? Because children were a rowdy bunch?

… That was it?

"Yup! That's it. Children are _really_ loud little creatures. We can't just drop all of you in one place and expect you to behave. The rotation is purely to keep your little bodies and brains occupied by everything around you. Civilians will lead, and ninja will make sure you don't run away. Every year has its own set of ninja and civilians as well as their own set of learning times. So, yes, you need a lot of work. We were Lucky to have such a smart little Kayo, weren't we Subaru-kun?" she said. I nodded again in understanding.

Civilians would probably teach the children the subjects that require visual learning, while the ninja will teach things related to their jobs. Having civilians meant that the children will be evaluated if they were suited for it.

"Yeah," dad agreed. I looked up at him in question, and he smiled.

"Our clan is energetic, right?" he asked. I reluctantly nodded in answer. "It's a fact. A rule of this world. Since our chakra pool is big, and our kekkei genkai varies from person to person, our children can't be controlled by just anyone. Parents need to be the ones present during their growth, and after they become adults, marry, and have their own kids, the circle will start again. You're not a loud child, Kayo-chan, but you're still an energetic and healthy Uzumaki."

What he said was true. I'd noticed I was much more active than in my previous life, but I'd attributed it to being a child again. But being an Uzumaki was actually a factor, and like my father said, as a rule, my clan was energetic. Combine that with a child's energy? Lots of work to be done. But the bit about the kekkei genkai, our blood-limit, was new to me. He implied that everyone had it, did that mean I had it since I was a full-blooded Uzumaki?

Althpugh it was ironic, really, that I was very easy to handle. It was true, in a sense. Because even though I got into mischief, but unlike other children, I understood that there were lines I couldn't cross. But my parents actually thought that they were lucky to have such an intelligent child as a first born instead of questioning how I knew things I shouldn't know. They thought it was a blessing.

This was one of the most hilarious things I have ever heard.

"So…" I started, since this was a perfect opportunity to ask. "is that why you guys never really found me strange?"

I held my breath as they snorted. It was mother who answered my question.

"Sweety, if you weren't strange, we would have taken you to the hospital for a thorough checkup. Your strangeness is actually positive, unlike some children… poor Juri-chan."

I didn't even want to know what happened to this Juri, but I was still glad. A weight I didn't know of was lifted from my shoulders, and I smiled lightly.

"I love you two." I said, hugging both of them.

"Aww, we love you too, Kayo-chan!" mum cooed, nuzzling into me. I felt her lean over towards dad, then she pecked his cheek. He preened at her and stole a kiss from her lips. I giggled and cuddled more into the hug.

After the little group hug and kisses came the rest of the explanation.

Uzumaki children weren't only creatures with infinite energy, but they were weird as well, me included as my parents believed. The weirdness was a meter to tell how healthy the child was. My clan was, as I said before, eccentric because children turn into adults. And since everyone was wacky, how do they know what's normal by other people's standards? Easy.

"They don't." dad casually said, waving a hand in the air. I choked on my own spit at the tone he used. To my surprise Hinomi didn't laugh at my reaction, and waited for me to recover by rubbing my back.

"How do they know what's normal…?" I weakly asked when my throat stopped itching. By then, Hinomi's craziness came back and she clapped her hands in amusement.

"Mostly from observing people when they're on a mission," she answered, grinning. A sheen of nostalgia passed through her eyes. "They behave so strangely, yet so oddly cute as well. Like baby ducks who don't understand why other baby ducks try to climb trees."

I yawned involuntarily, snapping my jaw shut when my mother giggled. Even though my eyes started drooping, I pushed myself into asking further. My toddler body wasn't helping me at this moment. "And why do those baby ducks try to climb trees?"

The serious face my dad made scared me more than mother's evil grin.

"Obviously, they're the adventurous sort. Ducks aren't made to climb trees you know." he answered, voice all knowing and wise like he had all the knowledge in the world.

"Yup! The cute new Genin are always so confused when they start going on missions outside of the village. And when they come back, they become so out of it to the point where we have to make them interact with us even more!" mum gleefully exclaimed, amused by the whole situation while dad chuckled as my sleepy brain tried to keep up with their fast talk.

What I got by all of that before I actually fell asleep in my parent's arms was that Uzumaki weren't just redheaded oddballs, but they were crazy as well. Bat shit insane actually.

And I was one of them.

I had never been more proud than I was at that moment.

The next day was much happier than the previous one. I woke up squished between my parents. My mother had an arm around me, and my father's hand was resting over my stomach. I smiled brightly at how we were positioned. I was pretty sure my dad and my mum were awake, since they were Ninja, and that was how Ninja were. They could feel the slightest movement and become aware of their surroundings almost instantly.

Our close proximately also helped me to finally think clearly about the magic in this world, Chakra.

It was buzzing right where they touched me, which tickled my skin and made the warmth inside of me assimilate to where our bodies connected. It was comforting, and I didn't mind it one bit.

When dad let out a loud snore I couldn't help myself and I giggled loudly, getting my mother to snap her eyes open and suddenly lung at me with a loud rawr. She started tickling my sides, and my father soon moved to join the tickling fight, with mum kicking and thrashing as he went for her first. I took that as an opportunity to gather my breath. When I did, I threw myself at his back.

The pillows seemed like they were the ones that always took most of the attacks, since a loud rip brought us to a stop. A fluff of feathers escaped it, and I felt as if they were mocking me. I grabbed a handful of it and dropped it on my dad's red hair. We all blinked, bringing the fight to a momentary halt.

I got to say… white oddly suited him. The white on his head reminded me of a wedding veil, and I got a disturbing image of him in a wedding gown, with my mother in a suit. I abruptly burst out laughing, and mother joined me for a completely different reason, most likely. Dad grumbled under his breath and threw a handful of feathers on my face as revenge. I was able to close my mouth right before it hit me. But when it did, I was not impressed.

Eventually we had to leave the bed. My mother carried me to the bathroom, and we both entered the tub while my father went to start making breakfast. I splashed and played with the water as she cleaned my hair.

After breakfast, dad went to shower, and mother left to tend to the gardens, leaving me to my own devices.

I sat there with my toys scattered around me, the shower noises were the only thing that filled the house other than my childish sound effects. That soon changed when a loud shriek, that sounded a lot like my mother's, split the air. I quickly got up to my feet, almost falling down as I did so since my motor skills weren't that refined yet. The door wasn't opened, but a little jump to reach the doorknob did its job, and I soon found myself behind my mother.

She was pointing at a tree and her eyes were wide and teary. I squinted when I couldn't see anything, or anyone, around us. I slowly got closer, still alert, careful with each step I took. My heart was still beating loudly from fright.

"Okaa-chan, is everythingー" I started, but she cut me off by widening her stance as soon as a bug, that was perched in all its glory on the tree bark, opened its wings and got ready for flight. Then, just as the bug jumped off the tree to escape, she kicked it with the bottom of her feet. Which also made the tree explode and fly off its roots to oblivion.

My jaw dropped.

Did she just used a bastardized version of Tsunade's move? Or did she randomly use chakrain her fright to make the poor plant, and bug, explode?

My dad soon arrived, jumping off the second floor with nothing but his pants on and a towel around his shoulders, his dampened red hair sticking to his face. I looked up at him, still in a daze. He looked about ready to murder someone with the two kunai in his hands.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked. I put up a finger to answer him, but words failed me at that moment since my brain was still recollecting what my mother had done. Dad quickly put away his sharp knives into, what I believe to be, a seal on his wrist. It surprised me for a moment because I hadn't thought that his tattoo was actually a weapon. My mother shakily whirled around to she throw her arms around his neck.

"BーBug! Slimy, wiggly, _yucky_!" she sobbed, and my legs gave out under me in both an after effect of the adrenaline rush finally ending and in relief.

I took a shuddering breath. My parents must have heard me, because I soon found myself feeling their energies through the hug.

"What's wrong honey?" mother asked, and dad started inspecting my person for any injuries. I spared him a glance.

"I thought we were being attacked." I said, the weight on my shoulders made them droop slightly. I felt like everyone's lives were in my tiny hands, and I didn't know what to do with them. My mother reminded me that the time was ticking.

Sadly, they didn't seem to understand the heaviness my question, because my dad chuckled lightly and hugged us both while my mother blinked slowly. Dad saw her face, and his laughter became louder. I pursed my lips.

"Subaru-kun!" mum suddenly exclaimed, grabbing him by his ear. Lightly, so she wouldn't hurt him. "I'm the only one allowed to laugh like that!" his laughter subdued a bit at that, and mother huffed, then she patted my head.

"Kayo-chan, we're seal masters. Attacks on us are few and far between. There are a lot of wards around our island too! Why do you think we're one of the safest villages in the Elemental Nations? We're not called Uzushiogakure for nothing, the whirlpools protect us! And the very first Uzukage had drawn seals under water with _rocks_ to insure that the waves are strong enough to wash anu wondering ninja away." she said, eyes sparkling with admiration. I forced myself to ignore the unlogical relief I felt from her words, so I shook my head, ready to keep arguing.

"What if it failed somehow? I don't think we would survive it. Our numbers aren't that great." I said, and squeezed their arms with my tiny hands, trying to convey to them my fears. It was true. From what my parents had told me during our storytimes, the village only had about three thousand members. A huge attack, with a handful of civilians and children, meant that we wouldn't be able to fight back instantly. It'll be one-sided. And even though we had other clans, who were really only Uzumaki specialized in certain things to lessen the confusion about which family does what, we wouldn't be able to fend them off.

Not many knew that, but 'Uzumaki' held inside of it many other smaller clan names. It was a family name that worked as a glue for us. Heck, I didn't know that until a friend of dad's introduced himself as an Uzumaki of the Uzuhou clan. That clan specialized in sealing, and they were also responsible for making rounds around the island to make sure the defense seals my mother had mentioned earlier were up and running.

Another example being the Uzuigawa clan. They specialized in water jutsu. Mum had said she had a water affinity, but she didn't want to be a specialist. So she didn't register into the secondary clan.

In other words, our 'clans' were more like like a training club, that helped their members become better, than an actual clan like the Uchiha. They had their own set of small rules too.

Dad's hand over my head brought me out of my clan lesson, and I looked up at him with wide, slightly glossed eyes. He smiled reassuringly at me.

"We're strong, Kayo." he said, and I grimaced. He sighed and decided to explain. "We're feared in other countries and the fear isn't baseless. We can fight back. You know there's a popular saying that goes, don't give a seals master enough time to make one. We have lots of those and our location will give us plenty of time to see the attack. So don't worry, we're going to be fine."

With that, I knew our demise will be by our own hands. Something as simple as pride blinded my family with their strengths to the point where they couldn't see the weaknesses each and every one of them held. Even if I continued giving them scenarios about attacks, they wouldn't listen. So I let myself fall into their arms and clutch onto their clothes like they were a lifeline. Mother panicked even more when I didn't answer her worried questions.

I was soon brought back inside, then I passed out in their arms from the mental exhaustion that made my head too foggy and too tired to stay awake.

Even though I didn't feel like eating anything after I woke up, my body made it loud and clear that it needed food, and as on cue, my parents brought in some of my favourite dishes to my room. I didn't complain about eating nor say I didn't feel like eating so I wouldn't worry them any further. Plus, my toddler instincts forced my mouth to water at the scent of food.

After another song of asking if I was alright, and me replying with a quiet yes, they carried me downstairs. My mental silence soon brought me to questioning myself, and the question that kept repeating was, what could I do to prepare myself for what to come? The answer was simple.

Training.

It should be easy with the help of the magic running through my body. I had to start practice on it anyways. I always felt it in everyone, but had thought it was too early for me to start playing with it. Because one time, my mother, who thought being a Jack-of-all-trades-but-master-of-none was cool, had started practicing how to heal on a fish. It had glowed green just like the show portrayed but it hadn't been a pretty thing.

Because, well, the fish had exploded.

Which also meant if I recklessly used chakra while I was excited, I might damage an important organ. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and that meant I couldn't wait for my parents until they decided it was safe for me to use it. I had to learn fast.

Everything could be turned into a weapon. And I needed everything I could get my hands on before I could march into war.

I knew it was wishful thinking, since I alone wouldn't be able to stop the future from happening. How could a child possibly do all of that on their own? My body wasn't built for protection, it was meant to be protected until I grew old enough to reverse the roles. I was currently a weak creature who needed people around me to survive. I was only going to start training so I could run with my parents if we were forced to do that, just in case they couldn't carry me.

And that was the most frustrating thing ever.

I went up to my room after excusing myself, my parents hugging me before climbed the stairs. I jumped up on my bed, that was designed for my age and height, and then sat comfortably on it.

Now, being in a quiet place that only had my parents' low voices as a background noise helped with my concentration. I'd always felt my chakra, but I had, in my earlier years, thought it was me still adjusting to my new body. Mentally speaking that was. But it turned out that while it was a form of adapting, I got too used to the warmth. Locating my chakra as it traveled inside of me didn't take long.

Whenever I focused on a place, I could feel it as it moved from my stomach to rotate towards other parts of my body. But unlike blood veins, where if you put pressure on the big vessels like the wrist's, the chakra didn't throb along with my heartbeats. It was a constantly moving energy that didn't slow down unless I willed it to.

Slowing down my energy was a bit tiring, but I managed. I also tried willing it to go to certain places. Now that was hard. It was like redirecting a terrified horse. It thrashed at first, but then it ran towards where I wanted it to at full speed before escaping my skin as a flash of light that was too weak to do was where the difficulty came.

I knew it was wrong to do that, because, well, chakra control was a thing. I also had to be able to redirect a certain amount of chakra to specific body parts instinctively, and not consciously like I was currently doing. That would require a lot of practice, now that I thought about it.

As I an Uzumaki, having large chakra pools was a given. Which meant controlling it was going to be a lot harder than normal. But… just look at other Uzumaki _ninjas_. That alone surely gave away the fact that it wasn't impossible, but needed a lot of work and effort to be put into it. But I had something to draw upon other than observing the ninjas here.

The show.

Now, what did I remember about the show? The monster battles, that was for sure. I had played the games too, so I remembered the major events from all the medias. However, playing the games also meant that the scenes in between the boss fights was blurred, because in the game, you had to do quests that weren't in the anime or manga. Everything kind of blurred together.

Guess playing, reading, and watching Naruto came to bite me in the ass.

But it also helped. I remembered how the characters… people, now that I was in this world, used their chakra. Tree exercise, water walking, and there was… sticking things to my own body? Anyways, the first time the tree walking was showed, I had thought it was pretty cool. So I'd listened intently to the explanation. That helped with my current understanding about my own chakra.

Naruto had a lot of it, and that was why he kept failing. Sasuke was either too crap at chakra control or he had a large pool, while Sakura was probably able to walk up the tree because she originally didn't have a lot of chakra, which helped redirecting the exact amount to her feat. She was also portrayed as someone who found chakra control an easy thing.

With me being an Uzumaki, I couldn't just start with the simple things because it might alert my parents. Like if I tried to walk up the walls, I was pretty sure I would make a hole in it from the mini explosion that was sure to happen at the first try. But even with my decision to try and hide this from them, It was obvious they'll find out soon. They were ninja, and they were _my_ parents. It would be near impossible to hide information from them, but I hoped I could trick them until my basic control was achieved.

They could help, true, but I didn't want them to question why I started my training _now_ of all times and risk them banning me from chakra until I became older.

So I grabbed a bunch of pencils and stared at the yellow coloured one. After some more staring, I realized something that made me feel a bit like an idiot.

I had no idea how to stick to things, or make things stick to me. I only knew how to be a walking beacon, currently.

But that was alright. I'll figure it out, no matter how difficult it'd be.

The first steps were the hardest after all.

* * *

 **A/N:** I really hope any kind of explanation in this made sense to you all.

Many thanks to those of you who favorited, followed, and reviewed. If you guys see anything wrong or doesn't make sense, please do tell! It'll help make the chapter flow better :p Special thanks to Loeka and Sachiko13!

Now, for the explanations that I'd failed to talk about in the previous chapter due to my nervousness.

Firstly, the Kushina POV was done by Loeka. If you liked it, then I'm sure you'll love her stories. Shameless advertising right there.

Also, the reason why she'd used "They" was because Kushina was too young to understand the concept of gender, hence using "They" instead. Loeka was going to use it actually, but decided against it. :p

Secondly, the names. For those who love learning new things, here's some cookies.

Note that I'm using only one of the kanji readings, since it'll become too messy if I added every reading.

New names will be added in the chapter the new character gets introduced in.

 **。** Koyume ( **こゆめ** ): Written using 'Crimson', beni ( **紅** / **べに** ), and 'Dream', yume ( **夢** / **ゆめ** ).

 **。** Kayo ( **かよ** ): Written using 'Beautiful', ka **(** **佳** / **カ** ), and 'Gift', ata ( **与** / **あた** ). That means the title for this fic is "A Beautiful Journey." x3

 **。** Hinomi ( **ひのみ** ): Written using 'Fire', hi ( **火** / **ひ** ), the katakana, no ( **ノ** ), and 'See', mi ( **見** / **み** ). Her name literally means Fire Tower / Fire Watchtower.

 **。** Subaru ( **すばる** ): Written using 'Scarlet', ake ( **朱** / **あけ** ), and Clear up, hare ( **晴** / **はれ** ).

And finally, I hope this chapter was a fun read! x3


	3. The Birth

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I, however, own the plot and any OC you encounter throughout this.

A filler to explain why Kayo doesn't have any siblings + to tell you all that this story wouldn't be dropped. Just shoved aside for a bit while I write other things.

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Hinomi's daughter wasn't crying.

She had noticed that fact after the pain in her abdomen lessened to the point where she could actually come back to the land of the living. Giving birth was a very painful experience, and as a kunoichi, Hinomi had experienced a lot of unmentionable things.

She quietly promised herself that she'd kill her husband by choking him to death with the candy he so loved if he ever got her pregnant again, or even _thought_ about a repeat.

The pregnancy wasn't planned. It just… happened. She had even been told not to go through with it at the hospital, her body unsuitable for giving birth, a result of a long ago injury, they had explained. It was as expected, since their job had many risks. Subaru, of course, didn't know about that. She didn't want to worry him.

They had warned her, after all the tests, that there was a high possibility the baby wouldn't survive. Either that or the infant would be born with weak lungs, deformed limbs, a failing heart, etc.

Hinomi had been _this_ close to telling the nurse that she wanted to drop the pregnancy the second visit, but couldn't say it because of Subaru's innocent happiness when she'd told him she was pregnant.

His face had lit up with joy when she'd told him. It was so pure that Hinomi felt awful for even thinking about aborting the child. So what if the baby was weak? They'd both protect her or him with their lives. They'd shower them with their love, with protection. So the risks didn't matter anymore. She'd go through with this and it would be the most amazing thing she'd ever do in her life.

Needless to say, she'd regretted this decision during the process of birth. _Greatly_. But when the medics exclaimed " _it's a girl!_ " Hinomi had never felt as happy in her entire life. She'd been shocked speechless when she watched his eyes water in tired astonishment.

Then, Subaru had started crying. Her husband did not _cry_. Not truly, not except for when he was acting over the top. He was the strongest, most amazing man in the elemental nations and he _did not_ cry. Except, Hinomi found out today that he did.

A little baby had made her husband an emotional mess. Hell, Hinomi was one herself. And what a matched mess they made.

Hinomi wanted nothing more than to see her daughter and thank her for being born.

But their daughter wasn't making any kind of sound. Hinomi tried sitting up to see what was going on, pushing through her exhaustion, and only saw the medics' backs.

Why wasn't her daughter crying? What was wrong, why wasn't she— the medics had said her baby was fine, they'd checked, she'd be completely alright and _why wasn't her daughter crying?!_ Her breath hitched, tears filled her eyes, and heart shattered because _her daughter wasn't crying!_

Hinomi tightened her hold on Subaru's hand even further, her husband not complaining even though she'd long broken his fingers. She'd told herself at the beginning that if something went wrong, she wouldn't cry, that she'd just accept her daughter as she was.

That had been before the medics had told her their child was a healthy child, before she'd started believing everything would be alright. But being here now, not hearing any other cries than those of her husband's, Hinomi wanted to _scream_.

Did she lose her child before she held her, even after the promise of her being fine? The baby that she'd felt grow inside of her for nine months, who they'd showered with affection before ever meeting her. They'd made her a room, they'd built a _crib!_ They'd gotten clothes for both genders, they'd bought toys, they— they _loved_ her.

Hinomi's entire world was destroyed at that very moment.

"S—Subaru…" she hiccuped, her daughter _still not breathing_. It wasn't fair! Their child was taken from them before they could ever show— _tell_ her how much they loved her. How much she meant to them.

But before she could start grieving, Hinomi's world lit up in the form of a single wail.

Her daughter _cried_ , and Hinomi could only sob in relief, every other thing falling away, unable to focus beyond the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard in her entire life.

She watched as a doctor wrapped her daughter in soft cloth, moving towards them so he could hand her over.

Hinomi bit her lower lip to keep herself from crying again as she held her daughter for the first time, the most precious thing she'd ever held. She looked down at the perfect little wonder within her arms, bloody and wailing, the most gorgeous thing in the entire world. Hinomi used to wonder about love at first sight, how it was even possible.

But now she fully understood.

Seeing as she'd just given birth, it wasn't a surprise when she felt tears rolling down her cheeks. She cooed at the little miracle held securely in her arms, who was loudly, _gloriously_ , wailing her tiny lungs out.

"She has orange hair." Subaru whispered, patting his daughter's head like she was made out of glass. Hinomi knew that her husband could be more gentle than you'd ever think from watching him, but this took it to a different level.

Her heart was going to burst from joy.

"She's so beautiful…. Our daughter." he said, and Hinomi leaned into her husband's arm.

"She's a gift." she agreed, managing a wobbly smile. Subaru planted a kiss on the crown of her head, still crying soundless tears as she'd never seen him do.

"Uzumaki, Kayo. Our tiny little wonder." he whispered. And Hinomi could only smile.

This moment right here, was the happiest in her entire life.

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His daughter was taking her first steps.

Subaru didn't know if he should be throwing a party for the entire town, or throwing a party for the entire town while meticulously sharpening his knives.

His daughter was growing up so fast, it almost felt like she'd been born just yesterday. Hinomi agreed with him when he told her so, and laughed softly when he mentioned the kunai.

He was going to castrate any guy who laid his eyes on his daughter.

"C'mon Kayo-chan! You can do it." Hinomi encouraged under her breath, soft enough to ensure their daughter wouldn't hear. They were both hiding behind a mostly closed door so that they wouldn't startle their little carrot haired girl.

Kayo never showed her full capabilities around them. Sure she talked a lot, but never in full sentences. Never in correct grammar. She understood them, understood far more than the vocabulary she used herself.

She was their little genius. Even more than usual for Uzumaki children. But they loved her more than their lives.

Because Uzumaki children were always, _always_ off in some way. A three year old kid understanding the basics of seals? Normal. A two year old toddler playing with their chakra under supervision and guidance? Even more normal. A six months old girl trying, and mostly succeeding to walk? Psh.

Uzumaki kids were always a blessing and a terror at the same time. Especially after they discovered chakra. Which was why Hinomi decided that Kayo needed to be oblivious of chakra for the longest time. Genius, Uzumaki, and chakra Did Not Mix. It was a recipe for disaster just waiting to happen.

Subaru was so glad Kayo hadn't figured that part out yet. And not just that she was hiding it of course —children hiding from ninja were always so adorable— but genuinely not experimenting with it. Though he guessed that would change in a few months at the latest. He and Hinomi had already prepared a lecture on the Do's And Don'ts Of Chakra Use, ready to be told at the first signs of Kayo using her chakra. She was smarter than average, so they'll always keep an extra eye on her.

Like right now.

Seeing Kayo trying to stand up was so adorable.

Kayo's legs wobbled as she tried to keep her balance. In fact, her whole body was wobbling. It made Subaru put a hand on his mouth to stifle his laughter. His beautiful wife was biting her lip to stop herself from squealing loudly in glee as well.

"She did it!" Hinomi whispered excitedly as Kayo took a _very_ wobbly step forward, and Subaru grunted in agreement instead of whooping in joy. His hands twitched, and a bunch of candy found themselves between his fingers, because if this didn't deserve a reward, he didn't know what did.

His daughter shouted in victory after her third step, but it was enough to make her lose her balance. Subaru instantly calculated the angel of her fall. She'd only land on her butt, and that was comfortably swaddled in a diaper. She wouldn't be hurt in any way, so he could watch a moment longer. His wife obviously agreed, only twitching slightly instead of blurring forward to catch their little girl as she did, indeed, land on her butt with an absolutely adorable squeak.

Their little genius made a frustrated sound before immediately trying again, using the wall next to her as support.

Never looking away from Kayo, Subaru brought up an arm to hug his wife closer. Hinomi gripped him back in excitement, glittering eyes never moving away from their little girl either.

Subaru smiled, feeling pure bliss. He loved both of his girls so much. Life was just perfect.

… But could it be even _more_ perfect?

"How about we make Kayo a sibling?" he asked his wife softly, figuring enough time had passed that he could risk asking.

Judging from the fist that met his nose and neatly broke it, enough time had not yet passed. Well that just meant Subaru would just have to try again later.

Because really, Kayo deserved to have a sibling to play with. And who was he to deny his daughter what she deserved?

* * *

A/N So... Hello! Long time no see! Uhm, I won't say this is an excuse because it's not, but like, college and life. And a lot of stalling.

Hope this is enjoyable at least. Many thanks to everyone, especially to Loeka, Sachiko13, and my other dear friend Fog. Chapter 3 would be postponed until I actually know how to begin it. It's like, everything is written out, but then I can't write beginning! A literal cluster fuck! SOS.


	4. The Holes

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I, however, own the plot and any OC you encounter throughout this. Which **is** going to be a lot.

 **Warning:** _I made a lot of original characters to give life to a part of the original story that we know nothing about. We only saw a couple of Uzumaki in the original Naruto, and even those were mentioned briefly. So! Since this is_ fanfiction _, I took free liberties and built the Uzushio you've been reading about since chapter one the way I see it._

In shorter words: If seeing original characters left and right isn't your thing, then this fanfic isn't for you.

 **Quick Recap:**

 _ **。**_ _Chapter 1 talks about Kayo's goal, which is not having any regrets in her new life, and discovering where she was._

 _ **。**_ _Chapter 2 is Kayo's resolve to change the future, and general world building._

 _ **。**_ _Bonus Chapter, the interlude, is a short story that talks about why Hinomi and Subaru (Kayo's parents) didn't try for another kid._

Have a fun read!

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In my previous life, the media portrayed ninjas as nothing more than silent assassins who lurked in the shadows, equipped with star-shaped weapons that would be effortlessly thrown at their enemies for various reasons.

However, I noticed they were so much more when I'd come to this reality. While I knew for a fact they could kill someone using a dull spoon if they had to, that was only when someone threatened them or their families. I couldn't write them off as just cold-blooded killers after I'd witnessed the love my clan held for each family member in it.

Their views on what was safe for children was crudely twisted beyond recognition because of their protectiveness, along with their common sense. They'd raise literal hell if someone close to them was injured, but at the same time, the grownups thought that spitting out fire was a great way for children to train, even if said kids didn't know what they were doing most of the time. It was fine as long as they were under strict supervision, even when it was life threatening.

It was a good thing that the adults made sure every child understood they couldn't run off to discover things on their own without them breathing down their necks.

The new genin, who usually got too excited about finally being enlisted into the ranks, quickly learned that it was idiotic at best to try and break the rules, because as soon as the kid thought about doing some mischief, a grave would be made for them by an irritated adult along with a very throughout lecture about how being a genin does _not_ equate to being seen as a mature individual.

Simply put, I was a moron.

I knew ninja trained themselves to be wary of their surroundings at all times. It was something essential for survival, and Uzumaki parents shamelessly abused that particular skill on their children.

But even when I understood that, I still decided to experiment with my chakra. I had been a little worried about being found out, but I'd became too excited with the prospect of learning more about the 'magic' of this world to properly think about the consequences.

I only realised how utterly fucked I was the second the pencil, that had been comfortably secured in my hand, skyrocketed into the ceiling.

It thumped loudly, the noise echoing in my room as the part surrounding the pencil exploded. I wrapped my arms protectively around my head when pieces of wood showered down on me, nicking my arms.

This was the moment where I felt the familiar tingling sensation that was the sign of my parents using the _shunshin_. All I could do was let out a panicked shriek before I fell down on my backside when dad, who'd always been faster than mum, materialised on my windowsill in visible worry. A second later, mum barged in through the door.

"What happe- are you okay?!"

Mum's voice cut off in the middle of her sentence as she practically teleported and knelt down in front of me, her green glowing hands grasping mine in fear and panic because of the blood that was slowly dripping down my arms. My heart pounded loudly in my chest when dad bounded towards me to check my body for injuries.

Pain flared in my palms when I clenched my fists to hide my abused skin. Mum reached for my hands when he noticed the angry blisters and gently cradled them as her eyes widened in recognition.

"Chakra burns…" she whispered, her gaze flickering to the pencil still stuck in the wooden ceiling. I grimaced when her chakra faltered, remembering all the fishes that exploded because of her medical chakra. My breathing slightly calmed down when my skin didn't shred into ribbons.

"Kayo," dad called, and I fearfully looked at him as he crouched down to my height.

"Were you using your chakra?" he slowly asked, still trying to make out the situation. I bobbed my head up and down in confirmation.

"... Is that bad?" I hesitantly asked. I knew that what I'd done was dangerous, but I didn't think they'd react like this. I was once again reminded that I wasn't an independent adult anymore, but the loved daughter of these two people.

"Yes," mum said without missing a beat as she tilted my head up so I could meet her gaze. It was obvious to anyone that she was trying very hard not to hug me tightly from the way her lips slightly trembled.

"That was stupid!" I grimaced. "Why didn't you tell us?! You could have been hurt!"

"You should have known better," dad said, trying to sound calm. I looked at the floor in shame.

"I'm sorry." I said, nervously fiddling with my shirt.

"... Is this about earlier?" she asked. I nodded, unable to find my voice. It wouldn't do any good to deny it after she made the connection.

Mum sighed and tiredly pinched the bridge of her nose. "The seals are good, honey."

"... I don't want to rely on seals," I admitted, still unable to move.

"What about us?" Dad asked after a moment.

I blinked back my tears. Really, hiding this from them was painting me as a major idiot, and mum thought so as well, because her motherly instincts finally took control over her actions and her fist lightly settled on top of my head.

"That was dangerous, Kayo! I thought we made it clear to never do this on your own!" she scolded loudly, eyes dark with emotions. This was the first time I was on the receiving end of her infamous glare, and I was reminded about why I'd been terrified of my first mother whenever I had the metaphorical balls to defy one of her rules.

I followed the length of his arm, and my face fell when I wasn't graced by his usual soft expression. It made every word I wanted to say die in my throat, and I shrunk into myself in shame.

"You understand what could've happened, right?" he asked, sounding tired. I glanced at mum, who crossed her arms as she looked at everything but me, and slowly nodded. He sighed and rubbed his temple.

"If you do, then you're banned from any kind of chakra use," A pointed look from mum made dad sigh, but sternly look at me after she raised an eyebrow. "You're also grounded. No more sweets and no more leaving the house on your own."

My jaw almost dropped from disbelief and for a split second, the side of me that was nearly two years old nearly took over every rational thought I had. I wasn't an adult anymore, but a toddler who was barely out of her diapers.

Hurt and anger flooded me, making tears prickle my eyes and for my nose to start running. My mother didn't falter, and even my dad, who had always indulged every single one of my childish whims, didn't move. I nodded in resignation when it seemed like they weren't going to budge.

"I… I understand."

And so, the days passed.

They were agonisingly uneventful, with boredom welcoming me at every corner. I didn't have anything interesting to do since I was held in the confines of our house. If I wasn't forbidden from going outside, I would've went out to our garden to watch mum water the plants while dad read a book or did katas under the shades of the trees surrounding our backyard.

Now, though, I could only do the basics. Sleep, wake up, take a bath with one of my parents, eat, then sulk until the day was over, maybe even throw a tantrum if things became too slow paced for my young brain until mum or dad decided to continued our usual stretching sessions that had started a couple of days before getting grounded.

I'd thought that the sessions would save me from the never ending routine I was doing, but my hopes were in vain. Instead of it being light and fun, it turned out to be very… different.

Encouragements were replaced by stern lectures, and whenever I slacked off for a few seconds, I got lightly punished by doing more stretches. It got to the point where I started aching, which had never happened before.

Of course, they were still good parents, so after each session they let me relax in the tub alone where I splashed water to my heart's content before being bathed and then fed one of my favorite meals.

I couldn't hold a grudge for too long.

Kids my age weren't built to be living a lackluster lifestyle though, and things were extremely boring for me.

Maybe if I apologised properly, my life would snap back to its usual normalcy. I just… didn't want to be the one doing it again. It was obvious that both of them still wanted to drive in just how bad my actions were.

It was my fault yes, but I couldn't bring myself to look either of them in the eye and say that I wouldn't be doing it again.

I sighed and locked my gaze onto the dark clouds lazily moving in the sky. I was daydreaming when I sensed dad stand near the living room's door. I ignored him, and stubbornly dragged my eyes down to the trees swaying in our front garden.

His bright flame approached me from behind, but I still ignored his entire existence. It was a behaviour befitting for my age, but at this point I didn't care. I wanted their attention again, and I didn't know which side of me that craved it, the adult civilian or the Uzumaki toddler.

A part of me whispered that it was both.

Dad cleared his throat and tapped my shoulder. I reluctantly turned around, figuring that if I didn't acknowledge him now, he would probably end up sulking to mum. I didn't want him to do that, it'd be inconvenient for the both of us. For her because she'd have to comfort him, and for me because doing that would cancel our training session.

When I fully turned, I came face to face with familiar bright wrappers sitting on his open palm.

My eyes prickled with tears as I looked uncertainly at him and he smiled without saying a word. It was such a small gesture, but it still caused me to choke out a sob, because it meant that he finally forgave me. I didn't take the candy from him and instead launched myself into his warm arms with a loud hiccup.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, _I'm sorry!_ " I chanted as he rubbed my back, my fingers tightly gripping the back of his shirt.

"I could read. You love books." he offered in hurry , probably so I'd stop crying. I nodded after my sobs watered down into sniffles, happiness lighting up my entire face. It's been far too long since I'd gotten the opportunity to fully enjoy his presence, and I wasn't going to deny myself of his rich voice.

When mother came back and found us curled up to each other, she gave a slightly strained smile, as if she was trying to hold back her tears. I forced myself to hold her gaze, and just when I thought she was going to walk away to the kitchen so she could start out her daily routine, arms wrapped protectively around me while red hair filled my vision.

"Kayo you idiot!" she cried, hugging me tighter. "I could have lost you!"

"I'm sorry," were my slurred words as I held onto her. Her arms tightened around me before she leaned back so she could slide a hand into one of the bags she'd carried inside. She pulled out a dull brown book. I leaned forward to inspect it in curiosity.

"This is a chakra theory book. I'll only read it for you if you're being a good girl."

I jumped into her arms again, this time thanking her and promising that I'll listen next time, and that I'd go to them in the future if I wanted something. I was beyond thankful that she brought me this book because, seeing as books were guarded by the dragons that were the Uzumaki clan, being given one was a huge deal. I had to prove to them that I was mature enough to be taught things above my age.

Dad's large hand ruffled my hair and I tugged his arm so he'd join the hug. He winked at me, and his hand stealthily slipped into my pocket. I felt the distinct but not entirely unwanted weight settle inside of it.

My smile widened.

Everything was back to the way it should be again.

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Two years had passed since my parents went back to being active duty ninja, and the day they went on their first C-ranked mission was the official start of my time in kindergarten.

The clan members, who were either new ninja parents or civilians, would usually take me from Koyume's house, since I stayed over at her place when she wasn't on a mission, and take me, along with other children, to another house or playground.

Koyume was actually the first person my parents thought of when they were trying to pick where I'd be staying over from now on whenever they had to do a mission outside of Uzushiogakure. It was a sound choice because this way, I had Kushina's antics to keep me entertained, while the other choices were random relatives, who _I_ had to babysit half of the time.

I missed my parents when they were out, but when they _were_ here, however, they tearfully proclaimed that I was growing up without them there to see. It was their typical way of fussing over the smallest of things that left me exasperated in a way only a parent could make a child feel.

Every time they did that, my resolve to change the outcome of the war strengthened. Like today, when they decided that using paintballs to teach me how to aim was a great idea, claiming that real weapons were too dangerous for my tiny, uncoordinated self.

Let it be said that at the end of the paintball fight, our house was so brightly coloured, it could be seen even during the foggy days. It was the reason why many of our clan members stayed over with their own children until the fog dispersed, since they didn't want their children, who didn't know how to maneuver in this kind of weather like they did, to get scared.

Which led to my current predicament; the children were bored from waiting, and were whining to their parents about how they wanted to go home.

The parents, including mine who were offering toys and candy to the kids as ways to keep them entertained, tried to calm them down, but nothing was working. I was developing a tiny headache from the jumping and crying children ranging from three up so, being a kid myself, I decided to take charge of the situation.

I stepped into the kitchen and snagged a pan from the lower cabinets and a wooden spoon from the shelf above it, and climbed one of our sofas. I hit the pan with it with a strong swing and everybody's attention zeroed in on me. I ignored the adults in favour of smiling sweetly at the kids, who looked like they were going to go back to crying.

"Do you want to play a game?" I asked, the reference falling on deaf ears as tiny heads bobbed up and down in newfound interest. I looked at mum and dad in pure smugness and dad crossed his arms with a huff. Before mum could relax, I asked her to clear away the middle of the living room so there would be enough space for all of us to play in.

Our living room was large. In the middle sat a couple of sofas, a table and a couple of coffee tables on the sides. There was also a bookshelf that was inside a wall, right behind the three person sofa. Dad and the adults worked while I explained the game to the kids, whose excitement grew the longer I talked. I smiled innocently at mum when she tilted her head my way.

With the area cleared, we gathered around and started a game of rock-paper-scissors so we could choose the winner. Although I left out the younger children, since they couldn't quite grasp the game's rules, they were still going to join when we started.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" we all shouted at once, and those who had played the same hand with the others stood to the side and waited for us to finish.

At the end, a boy with braided, washed-out red hair and a tiny nose won. He was older than me, and grasped the game quickly as I explained it to him again. I didn't mind that I hadn't won, because that would allow me to continue teaching them.

We all clasped our hands together as the winner closed his eyes and took his place on the floor, small frame vibrating from excitement as we started skipping in circles around him. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to sing.

 _Kagome, kagome,_

 _The caged bird,_

 _When, oh when will you come out,_

 _In the night of dawn,_

 _The crane and turtle slipped,_

 _Who is behind you now?_

In the corner of my vision, I saw the adults tense up, their eyes widened while their hands balled into fists. But as fast as the tension came, it dissolved like sugar in water, and they clapped to the rhythm.

I didn't blame them for their reaction. The children didn't notice the double meaning to the song, since they were still kids. Judging from the tension, that I'd only felt because I was paying extra attention to our guests, they might have caught onto the meaning behind this innocent song. If they didn't, then it'd at least given them something that'd stick for a few more days until the meaning sunk in.

Cranes were the symbol for longevity in Japanese legends, which was what the Uzumaki were famous for, while turtles were a symbol of good fortune. In the song, both of them slipped, while the _kagome_ were the holes in their thinking.

 _If you keep this up, then we are going to die_.

It was a bold statement for me to drop on a dozen of ninja in my own home. But I was desperate to change their thinking, to _do_ something. My parents didn't listen to me the first time, refusing to change their views about the seals and how if they didn't get ready for the upcoming war, something everyone was talking about, then we'd be stuck in the middle of the crossfire without any kind of backup plans.

Naturally, the kid in the middle said the wrong name after we stopped singing. They were new to the game so I wasn't surprised. Anyways, I had tweaked the rules a little bit, and the moment he got it wrong, all of us ran away to hide in the house while the kid counted until ten with the help of his father.

We played a few more rounds until it was the turn of Keiichi, a boy who had short, wavy strands of inky-red hair that caused me to blink from how dark it was. A thin pair of yellow-rimmed glasses, that had a string attached to them on both sides, comfortably sat on his nose. He looked much older than the rest of us judging from the expressionless mask his face was stuck in, maybe six or seven years old.

However, the image of the stoic and level-headed boy that I'd unconsciously built from this short encounter crumbled like broken porcelain when he opened his thin lips to speak.

"This game is giving me seventy percent fun and thirty percent loneliness. I wish my elder sister was here, but I'll still happily play my part with one hundred percent enthusiasm!" he exclaimed in a mixture of happiness and sadness.

… _His tone doesn't match his face at all!_ I thought after a moment of baffled silence, my body automatically going through the motions of the game as the other children sang instead of me, stumbling over some words. When the song finished, I was even more surprised.

The reason was simple; the boy guessed that it was me who was standing behind him. Which, judging from how many times the other children had failed, made me freeze in shock.

"What?!" I exclaimed, startling some of the children with my high-pitched voice. The boy didn't move and merely leaned back so he could look at me upside down, face as emotionless as it had been a few minutes ago.

"Well, if you need an explanation, Kayo-kun. We are ten kids, eleven if you include me, and if you add the variable of how fast all of you were moving and who was right behind me at the start, it meant that there was about eighty percent chance that it was you, with twenty divided between the two who are holding your hands." he said, voice full of pride and joy, but face never twitching more than necessary.

My reaction was very simple and predictable; my jaw dropped.

A genius. A _naturally_ born genius. There was a prodigy right in our midst, and the adults weren't even reacting! Well, to be fair, with how my parents had reacted to me, that was as expected. But still...

Really? A maths genius?

"A-Ah… good job Keiichi-kun," I praised, ruffling his hair when his eyes shone in a way that could only be translated to _praise me, show me more love._

I was too caught up in my thoughts after that. Nothing major happened anyways, since most of the kids passed out standing, some even toppling over mid-song.

When the fog lessened, everybody bid their farewells. I waved goodbye, my eyes never straying from the form of a sleeping Keiichi.

If the kid had managed to survive in the original timeline, just how terrifying would he have become?

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 **A/N:** First, please allow me to thank my honey bun slave, Fog ❤. I fucking love you. Sachiko13 was an amazing helpful bestie as always! Thanks you two~

A thanks for those who reviewed, favourite, and followed as well. All three give me life.

There's no excuse to why this took too long. Although as one of my favourite authors had said, knowing where something is going doesn't mean you'll know exactly how to write each scene. This chapter underwent major editing before it was posted, and I had to cut off the ending since It was becoming too long.

This chapter was kinda of a… filler, I suppose. Next chapter will have the plot in it, and more Kushina! Probably an interlude if I couldn't fit in the fluff :P

 **Notes:** "Kagome" (籠目): The holes in a basket - Taken directly from wiki. The song and game are under the name "Kagome Kagome".

 **New Character Names:**

As I'd stated in the last chapter, I'll use only one reading and write the name meaning of only the new characters.

 **。** Keiichi ( **けいいち** ): Written using 'Firefly', hotaru ( **蛍** / **ほたる** ), and 'One', hitotsu ( **一** / **ひとつ** ).

See you next time! Soon, hopefully.


	5. The Words

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I, however, own the plot and any OC you encounter throughout this. Which **is** going to be a lot.

 _ **Warning**_ : I've got **no** idea what I'm doing.

Do have a fun read, though!

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Mum and I were alone when she decided that we could finally do something other than wait for dad to come back home from his mission, and I followed her out without any kind of complaint, my excitement very badly hidden.

She bent down to carry away the foldable chairs, which gave me a clear view of her butterfly-knotted white obi that was tied around her brown kimono. Four golden chopsticks held up her glistening red strands in an elegant hairstyle, the bells tied to them ringing with every step she took.

This was the first time I'd seen her in formal attire, which slightly weirded me out. Her unnatural need to do things as quickly as possible had always made her wear whatever was in reach, which also meant her hair always in a messy low ponytail.

My undivided attention was focused on her because of that, eyes following her every movement as she took out a foldable fan from her obi.

With a flick of her wrist, the beige fan opened to show a complicated picture of a chinese dragon done in black ink, the scales glittering in a bright golden colour that matched the chopsticks in her hair.

"From today onward," she began in a pleasant voice, surprising me by how easily she twirled the fan around her fingers. "Your father and I shall help you understand words. When we deem your knowledge acceptable, we will help you through the path of a seal master. It's not a requirement to do so, however. It depends on your own judgement."

I paused, blinked, then tilted my head in thought.

Did I want to dabble in sealing? I was curious about the arts, that was at least true. Its uses were endless from what I'd seen, but it needed time to master the language, and time to actually _make_ the seals, the latter being something that I didn't expect to have during actual battles unless I made a stock of them beforehand.

But there was still a chance of using up all of the stock, which would considerably lower my firepower if I relied heavily on them. It could be an additional skill I could use to protect my family and myself.

So yes, I did want to dabble in it, but it wouldn't become one of my main attacking skills.

The movement of the fan when mum used it to hide the lower part of her face caught my attention, the gesture making her face look petite and elegant when the colours accented her light makeup and made her eyes look sharper. At that moment, her beauty was breathtaking even for someone who saw her nearly every hour of the day, and my thought process died down in favour of admiring her.

Without any kind of warning, mum threw the fan upwards. I gasped in surprise when she didn't look at it, but instead slid her whole body to the right in one fluid motion while her arms sailed through the air in an arc while she elegantly bent her legs.

In the blink of an eye, she jumped backwards and swiftly caught the fan in its descent. Her right arm straightened in front of her and she pinched the end of her sleeve with her other hand as she fell back to the ground.

She swept her fan upwards a few metres above the grass right before she landed, righting her body in the process as a gust of wind forced leaves and rocks to float when she lightly stood on her feet.

I startled when she unceremoniously dropped down on all fours, slapping her hands on the grass. I sucked in a deep breath as my attention locked on the chakra that suddenly flared up with power around where mum now stood.

I imagined that it'd be extremely difficult to ignore how her chakra affected everything around her, even when I wasn't somewhat aware of said energy.

But wouldn't that be a problem during actual fights?

I stared at the visible gust of wind that was lightly blowing upwards to the sky until mum crouched down next to me.

Maybe the enemies would be long gone if she seriously danced.

"What do you see?" she asked, and I tore my gaze away from the obvious chakra wisps that were laced with the wind and blinked up to her.

"See…?" I repeated in puzzlement, half of my mind focused on how the scattered grass kept twisting in their place, some of them breaking as the chakra was still making everything violently rotate.

"They're… swirling?" I uncertainly answered, furrowing my eyebrows in concentration.

With a carefully aimed smile, mum warmly cupped my face.

"See Kayo-chan? Mummy is strong, and so is daddy. We won't let anyone hurt you." she whispered, brushing her thumbs over my flushed cheeks. I nodded after a moment and tilted my head so I could kiss the back of her hand.

Ever since I'd shown that I was worried about our family, my parents had made it their personal mission to reassure me as much as possible that nothing bad would ever happen to our homeland.

It was a sweet gesture that brought sadness to me, since no matter how many times they told me everything would be fine and demonstrated that they were amazing shinobi, I could never accept their words simply because I couldn't snap my fingers and forget about my future knowledge.

It was true that maybe, just _maybe_ , no matter how much of an impossibly and ridiculously small of a chance it was, the events I knew would happen might not unfold. The Uzumaki being destroyed might have just been something the author of the story added to spice up his characters' backstories, and not something this world's future held.

I hoped this was the case from the bottom of my heart. It'd take away the huge lump of fear that was always weighing down on my shoulders.

Even then, I always told myself that that wouldn't be the case. Kushina was a huge part of my doubt, because I knew her from a previous life and I met her in the new one.

"I know." I lied, smiling brightly with practical ease. She grinned and ruffled my short hair before she stood up, then did a series of quick steps that returned the garden to its previous glory, as if she hadn't affected it in any sort of way.

"I learned how to dance when I was your age."

With that said, she folded her fan and slipped it inside of her sleeve, then planted her hands on her hips, all of her previous gracefulness disappearing as excitement leaked into every fiber of her being.

I couldn't blame her, since I could feel my own excitement replacing the sadness that always accompanied her reassurance.

How many people could say that they _danced_ their enemies to death? It was fascinating how she laced her chakra with every movement. I was confident that the small gusts of winds she'd created were just a small sprinkle compared to the actual attack power of it, and that she could create a storm of she wanted to.

Uzumaki were truly terrifying.

"But we're not going to do that!"

I blanched, caught off guard by her exclamation, and mum laughed at my confusion.

This was probably why mum didn't tell me to wear the outfit that was more oriented towards sports rather than what I was currently wearing, which consisted of a bright coloured dress and white shorts under it.

"Then what do you want me to do?" I said, pouting. Mum smiled in a way that made me regret my question.

"You're going to guess the words!"

Without any further instructions, she struck a dramatic pose with one of her arms up in the air, fingers stretched towards the sky, as if she was trying to catch the clouds. Slowly, she arched her back and brought her other arm up.

She abruptly punched the ground, drawing her legs apart in the process. While her hands were on the ground, she changed her center of balance before she twisted and threw a fist sideways, droplets of sweat falling away from the force.

I yelped when the force of her following kick caused a number of mud puddles to appear all around her. I tentatively took a step towards the closest one after I picked up a long stick from under one of the trees in the garden, not quite believing what I was seeing.

I stuck the item into the puddle, and let go of it in haste when half of the stick disappeared into the earth.

Mum clapped her hands to draw my attention.

"So?"

I looked up at her in fascination, my eyes undoubtedly sparkling in obvious admiration.

"Yes?" I asked, a bit breathless. She sighed, as if she thought I was being silly, and shook her head.

"What's the word?" she asked, slowly, and I made a sound of understanding.

"The word..." I muttered, looking all around me at the puddles of mud. I crouched down and closely stared at the one near me again, trying to figure out which word she'd danced.

It did cause mud to appear, so... "'Mud'?" I said with apparent uncertainty. It was the obvious answerㅡ

ㅡWhich was the wrong one, judging from the mud ball that hit me square in the stomach and ruined my dress, startling me out of my dazed state.

A part of me really should have realised that easy answers were always wrong when a shinobi was questioning someone.

"Hey!" I warned, and she stuck out her tongue at me, her left hand dripping with mud, not bothering with the fact that she was the culprit of my now ruined clothes.

" _Bzzzt_ , wrong answer!" she said, making a buzzer sound as she crossed her arms in front of her. "But since this is your first time, then you get a free chance!"

I touched my now muddy dress and quickly dived behind one of the chairs nearby, only to remember that she'd put them all away. As in, she put them all away for this particular moment so I couldn't escape.

Mum's laughter rung loudly behind me when I realised that I was trapped around the mud puddles. I couldn't cross over them, because if I failed the jumpーwhich was something I had to do because of my heightーand fell inside, then I might end up like the stick I'd poked the puddle with. I knew she wouldn't let me drown inside it, but I didn't want to be stuck inside of one in the first place.

She'd successfully trapped me.

I gulped down my fear and stood my ground. It wasn't like she was aiming to actually hurt me. But just seeing someone throw something at me was going to naturally raise my flight response.

"Uhm," I stuttered when mum motioned for me to speak in an exaggerated hand twirl.

"I-I think it's 'puddle'?" I said while distributing my balance onto my fee in preparation for anything she might do.

Not like that would help when my 'enemy' was my own mother, since the difference in our skill was sea deep.

It didn't fail to somewhat calm my nerves, though.

"Close, but still _wrong_!" mum exclaimed with an evil grin. I screamed in fear when something wet slapped my backside, and I crouched down in instinct. The thing that'd touched me flew over my head, narrowly missing my face.

"You can _control_ it?!" I shrieked in fear, pointing at the new puddle of mud in disbelief as I took a step back. Mum opened up her fan and giggled cutely behind it, the delightful laughter sounding like that of a villain's.

" _Yes_." she chirped, doing a few steps that made most of the ground return to normal, and then pointed the fan at me. I squeaked in disgust when a whip moved to wrap itself around my ankle.

The thing was wet and full of chakra. It was thrumming steadily on my skin, and I crouched down so I could tentatively poke it.

My finger came up wet.

I sighed in amazement and understanding, forgetting that this thing was actively destroying my clothes as it slithered towards the hem of my dress up to my torso.

She did say I was close to guessing the word. Although, what she wanted wasn't guessing, but _comprehension_. She needed me _see_ and not _observe_. To feel the dance and its effects instead of trying to logically define each aftermath of a dance.

"Is the word water?" I asked, grabbing a handful of mud, not caring about the ickiness of the feeling anymore. I wanted to learn and that left no room for my own disgust.

"Correct! But it doesn't count since you've used all of your passes. Better luck next time, honey!" she jokingly exclaimed.

I shot my arm up in the air and she grinned and put her hands behind her ears, giving me an I'm-listening look.

"How did you do that?"

The overly amused smirk her mouth broke into made me sigh in exasperation.

"Chakra!" she mysteriously said, throwing her hands around to mimic sparkles.

"I knew that." I grumbled, crossing my arms. Of course I knew that. The energy that'd covered her entire body while she'd danced, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, was expelled in a very obvious way that even I could pick it up.

"Seals need chakra and a base, which is paper most of the time. Paper is really easy to deal with." she suddenly said, twirling a strand of her hair with an unusually serious expression. I nodded in understanding, taking the fact that she went into her teacher persona as an opportunity to swindle more information out of her.

"So you used your body as a base instead?" I said, to which she nodded and momentarily shifted her attention away from me. "Shouldn't that be really draining?"

"Which is why this way of sealing can't be taught to those outside of our clan."

I jumped up, startled, and I whirled around so I could find the voice that was unmistakably my dad's. He went down on one knee and opened up his arms for me to hug him.

"Welcome back!" I enthusiastically squealed, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I missed you! How was your mission?"

"I missed you too." he said, voice potent with happiness to the point where I could easily hear the smile in it. "As for the other question, that's… classified information."

I pushed myself back so I could pout at him. Most of the time he'd crack under my very hard-to-deny expression. I puffed out my cheeks in mock annoyance when he only chuckled, but my lips quickly pulled back into a smile when my pocket suddenly rustled.

"Subaru-kun, welcome back!" my mother said, crouching down next to us to hook her arms around his. Dad dipped down his head and pecked her lips.

"Thank you, love." he said, kissing her nose. She sighed in content as he shifted his gaze back at me. "As I was saying, body seals can't be used by anyone who doesn't have the same chakra potency as us. However, if the potency was found but not the necessary levels, the person will only be able to implement easy words."

"Like water?" I asked and he nodded while mum got up. She offered her hand so she could help him up to his feet and I fully moved off of him so he could go back up to his full height.

"Complicated means that the word has more than one kanji," mum said as dad's hand cupped hers. "But that's not always the case either. It really depends on the effects it'll have on the surrounding area." she continued, voice a bit breathy as dad turned her hand around, palm up, before he closed his eyes and kissed the base of her wrist.

I smiled and moved back to give them more space, suddenly feeling relaxed and happy at their open display of affection.

"May I have this dance, my love?" dad asked, his red eyelashes fluttering open to stare at mum. I put my hands on my mouth in awe and leaned forward in anticipation, unable to stop myself from looking forward to the dance. I didn't expect this technique to involve more than one person, which was… full of potential, to say the least.

My mother took a step back, bowed, and put her hand on top of his when he offered it.

"Of course, my dear." she easily agreed, smile widening even more when he put a hand on her back to support her. They were both standing still, with their spines arched to make their silhouette beautiful.

Instead of starting the dance with a large step backwards, they both slightly lift their legs up, heads facing away from each other, before bringing them down in perfect sync.

Lights exploded on top of the grass, as if nature itself felt the need to give them some of its beauty as they stepped around each other, their eyes teasingly looking at everything around them without meeting the other's gaze.

My smile grew when they became more playful and I bit my lip to make myself focus on the meaning and not be cheated by what's in front of me.

I wanted to get this word right.

They broke apart, their feet falling heavily back to the grass. It made little balls of light, that were filled with chakra, lazily float around them. In the final steps, they extended their hands towards each other and dad slowly guided mum, helping her find her way back into his arms.

The lights disappeared when they looked at each other and smiled.

The dance looked like it could never be implemented in a serious fight. It was private, it was full of love. It wasn't violent, but playful. It was understanding and accepting.

And dad danced all of it with his front shirt full of mud because of my hug.

"Beloved." I whispered with a wide smile. They glanced at each other and laughed.

"Correct." mum said as she walked to me so she could pinch my cheeks.

"Since you need to know more words before you can attempt dancing, we've already prepared your learning tools beforehand." dad said, wiping sweat away from his eyebrow.

"We'll give them to you after lunch." mum continued on, grabbing my hand to lead me back inside. I followed her in content, and we finished lunch soon after that. I practically inhaled my food in my excitement, and then quickly took my plate to the kitchen.

Mum and dad chuckled behind me as dad brought out the mini steps they'd gotten for me when I'd made it obvious that I was interested in shouldering more responsibilities, such as drying the dishes with mum.

Of course, being the ninja parents they were, they both had cooed at my attempts at being 'adult-like'. They didn't tell me that ' _I was too young to help around_ ' or things similar to that, though, since shinobi generally encouraged such behaviours because of the nature of their job.

"Are you done?" dad asked as he poked his head into the kitchen. I nodded and turned off the tap, mum waiting next to me so she could put away the stairs once I was done washing my hands.

I sat on one of the cushions around the low table in the middle of the living room. Dad was already seated and shuffling through… Cards? I blinked heavily at the kanji written on the backs, I tried peering at what was written inside. He noticed my apparent interest and put three in front of me.

"Do you know these?" he asked, tapping the cards. The kanji for the numbers one, two and three were on full display.

They were easy and had probably been written in a book they'd read for me before. They read a lot for me previously, and I did try and look like I was learning by tracing words and repeating certain phrases after one of them had read them out loud for me.

There was only so little being labelled a genius and an Uzumaki could hide, so I tried not to raise _that_ many flags. Like only speaking about something after I'd heard about it from someone else during our daily walks around the marketplace.

Soー

"Yeah." mum sat next to me as I answered, shifting some papers closer to me so I could see them better.

"We'll skip to writing since you do, then." she said, grabbing a brush so she could draw some characters on an empty paper.

"Our writing system has a very specific stroke order for each word." she drew the kanji for one, which was just a line that started from left to right, and then started drawing the kanji for two. "Many kanji consist of other smaller ones inside of them. That's why knowing an order will help you with the bigger words. We'll start small for now and continue on until you know two hundred kanji."

I nodded in understanding, shifting slightly on the cushion when dad's lips momentarily turned into a grin. I knew two hundred kanji weren't a lot by their standards, so I didn't dare to complain.

Complaining would only mean that they'd double the amount of words, which would make learning take longer than it should. That particular scenario was unacceptable. I shouldn't waste time on things I already knew.

"The next words consist of the numbers from four to ten." dad continued on, showing me the rest of the flashcards. "They might not be useful in seal dancing, but numbers are fundamental for paper sealing in general, like putting a limit to the amount or things that can be stored inside a scroll."

I turned the cards around in my hands. The front had the kanji written on it with small arrows and numbers indicating the stroke order, while hiragana and katakana were written on the back.

They looked like the generic flashcards I'd used during my college years, but these were smaller and fit more into my tiny hands and were handmade instead of printed.

And they'd already made all of the two hundred kanji they wanted to teach me, most likely.

Knowing that the only way to repay them for their hard work would be passing whatever tests they threw at me, I nodded and huddled the cards closer to my chest.

"Can I take the papers too?" I asked, my intent clear as day. Mum nodded as dad stood up and stretched his back. He pushed the items closer to meーthe brush and papersーwhile mum shuffled through a drawer to bring me an ink bottle.

"We'll teach how to grind your own ink when you're a bit older." she said, opening it before she gently put it on the table next to me.

"You're going to nap?" I asked dad as I neatly organised the items for easier access. He rubbed his neck and slightly smiled at me.

"After I take a bath."

"Off to the tub with you then, honey." mum said, pushing him out of the living room. "You deserve to rest. Tell me what happened on your mission later, okay?"

I heard dad sigh as they rounded the corner. Mum poked her head back inside as I dipped the brush inside of the ink bottle.

"I'll come back in a minute. I just have to give your dad some clean clothes." she informed, disappearing as quickly as she came.

I grinned in determination and got to work.

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By the next morning, I'd ended up studying about thirty words.

I really should have expected that, after mum had come back to supervise me and saw how I was steadily moving my hand while making a couple of minor mistakes, she'd see my memorisation abilities as something that should be challenged, something I shouldn't take for granted, something I should use to its fullest potential!

Because she was an Uzumaki, and I knew as a fact that they loved finding new challenges.

What was the challenge, someone might ask. What did she do? How did they find a loop to make me work extra hard for their approval of my skills?

It was rather simple.

They'd stuck a brush in my mouthーan item that I was currently viciously biting atーand tied up my hands and legs in order for me to 'learn how to write using every part of your body and feel the words instead of using boring old ways like the weird people outside of Uzushio'.

That had been their literal explanation.

I didn't know what was normal anymore. I'd been successfully converted into an Uzumaki.

(And my only complaint was that the ropes they used were _too damned itchy_.)

"Alright Kayo-chan," Dad said with a very amused expression. "Write _sky_."

I nodded briskly, slipping one finger underneath the not-so-tight ropes that wrapped themselves around my bound wrists, scratching my irritated skin.

The brush kept twitching due to my jerky movements and I used my lips to stop it from missing its mark. Dad moved closer to me as I drew two, albeit very crude, strokes. I stopped for a moment so I could gulp down my accumulating spit.

"Focus!" my dad exclaimed, clapping his hand loudly next to my ear. I startled and the brush went all over the paper. With a muted _poof_ , ink exploded on everything, excluding my Ninja parents.

Trial and error took a whole new meaning because of them. I grind my teeth over the brush and sneezed, getting ink out of my nose without letting the brush fall. Nothing got into the upper half of my face, thankfully. But my chin was dripping.

Mum watched me like a hawk, her eyes transfixed on both my mouth and the paper, waiting for me to mess up.

A shiver ran down my spine and I shifted uneasily on my bound legs.

I had realised, the hard way, that my mother enjoyed torturing me more than necessary. She'd been giving me punishments for incorrectly writing a word since morningㅡIt was late in the evening now.

The papers I was using would randomly explode if I messed up an order, depending on what was inside of the mini-seal she'd drawn on the corners of them. She took this as an opportunity to fine-tune her handwriting and a way to think up of new creative, but still harmless, seals she could use on me.

I'd overheard them brainstorming ideas about those seals as I was writing many times throughout the day. Not the actual content of their conversations, but just snippets that made it clear about the topic they were discussing.

A ringing sound made me fearfully glance sideways at her, already knowing she was the one behind such a sinister, yet still beautiful, noise.

She poked the bells that were hanging from the strings pinched between her fingers, making the yellow items ring once more.

"Raise your head, honey." dad said, and I slowly looked away, hoping nothing bad would happen.

She twisted my hair into twin braids, and at the very end, the bells were hanged from my short strands, falling just below my chin. I moved my head experimentally, and sure enough, the bells loudly rung.

I immediately developed a dislike towards them because of a feeling that these two bells were going to bring me trouble.

"Again." she ordered me in a bored tone.

My hopes were in vain, because each time they rung while I was drawing a kanji, I had to resist each attempt they made to make me laugh.

A poke here, a hug there, tickling my feet, clapping their hands near my ears. The longer they kept distracting me, the more I grew agitated.

I couldn't _not_ mess up the kanji I was practising about half an hour of them figuring out ways to take away my attention from my attempts at calligraphy.

"I can't do this!" I exclaimed in frustration, spitting out the brush and then letting my head fall on the table. My forehead was now most likely smeared with ink because of this, but I didn't quite care at this particular moment. They made me lose all of the focus I had given to learning.

Which was exactly what they wanted, judging by the grins that grew on their lips.

"Okay," dad said, nodding his head sagely. "You don't want to write anymore?"

I glanced at mum, who put an elbow on the table. I nodded, knowing the conversation wouldn't continue otherwise.

"Then how about you go on a treasure hunt?" mum said, pointing a finger at me with an overly sweet smile. I skeptically agreed, shaking my hands for dad to remove the ropes.

Mum moved instead of him, relieving my limbs from their confinements.

But she wasn't done there.

"... Why." I deadpanned, staring at her blankly as she tied another two bells to both of my wrists. I had four in total on my person, currently.

Which didn't bode well for me. At all.

"You need to take a hair strand from Kushina," she said, poking the bells to test them. "Without alerting her. If she _does_ realise what you're doing, however, then invite her and Koyume for dinner."

What.

"This is a suicide mission!" I exclaimed, backing away from them. I wasn't going on such a mission in _this_ lifetime. I didn't want to be the one explained that particular thing to Kushina, who'd most likely cry because I attempted to take her _precious red and sparkly hair_.

"If you succeed we'll allow you to write using your hands instead of your mouth." mum said and I found myself shortly leaving the house after, grumbling all the way out of our front door.

After a short walk towards my aunt's house, that was spent waving and greeting family membersㅡwhile trying to have a feel of how restricted my movements were thanks to the bellsㅡI knocked on the door, hugging a smiling Koyume when she opened it..

"You took longer than expected." she said, putting her hands on my back to gently return my hug.

I didn't bother asking if my parents had told her about my arrival, because of course they did. She knew everything they made me do. I had to listen to her outright laugh when she'd found out about the time when I used my chakra, because, apparently, little kids hiding things from shinobi was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.

"Good evening oba-chan! How are you?" I settled on saying as peered inside of the house in curiosity. "Where's Kushina-chan?"

A light that was all too familiar settled inside of her warm eyes.

I bravely kept smiling.

"She's napping. Inside of her room." she said, grinning slightly when my face froze.

And so, I found myself I tiptoeing towards Kushina's room after I managed to convince my aunt to let me go. I was sure that she was trying to buy some time for the girl, and she was damned good at it.

She offered me some sugary goodness.

I couldn't resist.

Upon setting foot into her room, Kushina stirred. I paused when she softly exhaled, her breath coming out in a murmur about something I couldn't quite hear because of our distance.

I marched deeper into the room, mindfully avoiding the toys scattered in the middle. My arms were tense as I used them to balance myself. I glanced at the bells, silently praying they wouldn't ring.

Like the pink panther that I currently resembled with my almost neon pink coloured attire, which I didn't have any hand in picking, I took long strides towards the sleeping girl.

Mumbling some more, Kushina turned her body towards the wall and I saw her hug the doll that was in her arms tighter. It fueled my courage and I soon found myself looming over her sleeping form.

I had to finish this quickly, because while her current position meant I wouldn't be instantly noticed by her whenever she woke up, it also pointed at her waking up much sooner than anticipated since she was moving a lot.

She deeply breathed out again.

Slowly, my hand traveled closer to her head. But I soon the realised the trouble I was in.

I was pretty sure the bell would still ring, no matter how hard I tensed my arms and back. Plucking out a hair required a swift motion or else I'd hurt her and suddenly wake her up. I narrowed my eyes at the bells and twitched my fingers towards it.

I wrapped my fingers around it.

Bad idea.

" _Ow_." I yelped in surprise, removing my digits away from the bell. I rubbed my fingers in disbelief

I couldn't believe it! I was just _zapped_. It wasn't hurtful in any way, but the abruptness had scared me.

I glanced at Kushina, and sighed lowly in relief. I took the chance and grabbed a red strand of her hair while my I pinched the middle of it with my other hand before I pulled it.

With no warning whatsoever, I was tackled to the ground by a red-haired truck that was called Uzumaki Kushina.

I blinked at the floor, wondering how she managed to push me on my stomach and somehow sit on my back. The bells kept ringing in my panic. Kushina, oblivious to it, put her whole weight on my back and leaned forward so her lips were near my ear.

"Kayo-nee…" she whispered, and I shivered from the creepy aura she was emitting. Her fingers went towards my hair, and the cloth doll she was hugging fell next to my head, its button-eyes staring blankly at me. I yelped and tried to get away from her, which was futile in my current position, with my arms awkwardly stuck under my stomach.

"G-Good afternoon, Kushina-chan!" I said, trying to sound cheerful. I didn't know if I failed or not, because the smirk she responded with wasn't an answer.

"You took my hair."

I felt her fingers pinch a strand of my hair and I shook my head in growing fear. Kushina only grinned wider.

"Mama said we can make cute bracelets out of hair and it's going to be _so_ silky, y'know." Kushina giggled, playing with said strand. She blinked down at me with a pout.

"That means I can take yours too… right?"

Somehow or another, I managed to wiggle out of her grip. Not after she took the strand she wanted, of course.

I shuddered and closed the door behind me after I left her room.

" _Kayo-neetan_!" Kushina called out, and I moved far away from her door.

It cracked open and Kushina peered through it, her gray eye appearing wider as she giggled more, her hand gripping the door.

"C'mo~ _oon_ … let's play!"

The doll popped above Kushina's head.

I shrieked and couldn't help but run away.

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A/N: Early Happy New Years! Late chapter is late. Forgive me *coughs*

As usual, thanks to everyone who faved/ followed/ reviewed. Special thanks to Fog and Sachiko13, who beta'ed this chapter while I was writing it (though the final version isn't beta'ed- I couldn't wait...)

Do tell me what you think about this!

 **Notes** :

So as a response to **SnowCatt** , I'll address a couple of things that were mentioned in their review. This might be too long so I'm sorry in advance.

First thing first, I don't want to write about perfect parents. The parents I want to write about are parents who make mistakes and grow with their children.

Subaru, Hinomi, and Koyume are first-time parents and only know things about raising children from secondhand resources, such as their own experiences, or from watching the clan members interact with their own kids in front of them.

They didn't experience what it was like to raise children before. I thought that it wouldn't be realistic for them to be perfect at it from the get go, hence why they thought it was fine to leave the two alone for a few minutes while they took care of their business, and at the same time, try and see how this will turn out.

As for them thinking it's a great idea to throw Kayo at Kushina after she displayed negative emotions towards herー I made the Uzumaki members a bunch of people who don't know how to be subtle about their social approach until they grow older and wiser (read, interact more with the normies). So I imagined them thinking something like, "Oh Kayo doesn't like Kushina… You know what'll fix this? Exposure!"

In short words: If Kayo displayed negativity towards Kushina, who _isn't_ a gentle child like you pointed out, then they'd have still tried exposing her to Kushina by using different methods because they prefer the head-on approach.

As for Kayo talking about things she shouldn't know about… Well, they already established that she's a genius. I did take that route with this, but I also thought that while they knew she's a genius, they'll think it's fine for her to know the things they're sure were mentioned around her.

She goes with them _everywhere_ unless she's being babysat by someone, so obviously she must have picked up a lot of words from random conversations and deduced that, as an example, money is important because it's used by them whenever they purchase something in front of her.

I really do thank you for your constructive review. I also hope that someday I'll find the time to go back and make the things you've pointed out smoother and easier to digest.

 **4everWriter** : Reading reviews that say the original characters I've created are good makes me beyond happy. I'm also especially happy that you said this story helped you keep your hope in OC fics. Thank you, and all of the other reviews that commented somethings similar, for giving this a chance even with the terrible grammar slips.

(Psst, I need an extra pair of eyes for those.)

 **thestorymaker2** : I really hope that I don't fail you and my readers! I do plan on writing this without repeating canon events, aka destroy it and reshape it to fit the events that Kayo will surely affect. Do cheer me on!

Kudos for **BlackDove WhiteDove** for creating Kushina's quirk (making hair bracelets). I shall use it as promised. Great ideas, this person has.

 **Notes 2:**

 _ **Dances**_ :

 **。** The first dance is for the word Uzu ( **渦** / **うず** ), swirl.

 **。** The second dance is for the word Mizu ( **水** / **みず** ), water.

The first word Kayo guesses during that dance is Doro ( **泥** / **どろ** ), mud.

The second word Kayo guesses is Mizutamari ( **水溜り** / **みずたまり** ), puddle. It uses the kanji for water, which is why Hinomi said Kayo was close to guessing it right.

 **。** The last dance Hinomi and Subaru do is for the word saiai ( **最愛** / **さいあい** ), beloved.

 _ **Cards:**_

The kanji for one, two, three are ( **一** / **いち** ), ( **二** / **に** ), ( **三** / **さん** ) respectively, ichi - ni - san.

 _ **Writing:**_

Ten ( **天** / **てん** ), sky. It could also mean heaven.


	6. The Future

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I, however, own the plot and any OC you encounter throughout this. Which **is** going to be a lot.

 _ **Warning**_ : I still have no idea what I'm doing. I'm pretending that I do, but I really don't.

Do have a fun read, though!

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My relatives were not the most subtle bunch, especially for being widely feared ninjas. They were thunderous in their presence and adored destroying anything that dared to stand in their way, uncaring if they somehow broke all of their limbs in the process. Their over-hyperness was all thanks to the large, inherited chakra reserves and the children's still expanding chakra system. Because of that, we were the perfect people for living up boring parties.

In shorter words, being quiet was _not_ in our DNA.

On a gloomy day that was a little bit cloudy and too calm to be considered normal, what I grew up knowing had completely changed during an on-going festival. I only learned about its existence when my parents helped me into a bright coloured kimono while explaining that it was held once every five years, and that we were going down to the river once they finished wrapping me in the formal garments.

I couldn't help but notice how odd I stuck out standing between them after I was dressed, my kimono glowing in comparison to dad's dull-earth colours and mum's navy blue. We soon met with Koyume and Kushina (who wore clothes like mine) on one of the bridges that would eventually lead us to the centre of the village.

The steps we took echoed in the quiet clearing, making it more obvious how there weren't any sound other than the moving river underneath the bridge and the steps we were taking. It terrified me a little, especially since my energetic cousin didn't try to announce herself to the entire village. Instead, Kushina _kept muffling her giggles_ and was having an exciting, hushed conversation with thin-air.

While it unnerved me and made the fine hairs on my arms stand on edge, it looked like this wasn't something that should warrant the adult's immediate panic. They were actually looking at _me_ weirdly, as if they'd expected me to act like Kushina. But since none of them mentioned anything, I patiently held mum's warm hand, awaiting her explanation about the theme of the festival.

As we passed another bridge, which connected two of the island's separated areas together, a person selling lanterns caught my interest. The papers he presented were colourful and had our village's symbol in the middle, along with various interesting patterns around the symbolic swirl. It seemed like he was our destination, since the adults stood rooted in front of the stall, looking over the man's wares.

"No, no… these wouldn't do," mum mumbled to herself. I didn't understand why she didn't just pick the prettiest one, but when I studied them, I understood where her indecisiveness came fromー Every single lantern was as beautiful as the one next to it.

But she wasn't the only one having trouble with picking a lantern. Different members of the clan were taking their sweet time too, while more people walked into the plaza with their own lights ready in their hands.

Mum announced that she found the one she had been looking for, and a look of pure sadness flashed through her eyes when she glanced at me. I was momentarily shocked by that, because she had _never_ had that kind of faraway look before. I tugged at her hand in worry.

"Is… Is everything okay?" I asked. She leaned down as a hand settled on my head, light and comforting in a way only mum and dad could make me feel.

"Yes, honey. No need to worry too much," Mum said, pinching my cheek with her free hand.

"Uhm," I stuttered, looking at our joined hands. "If you say so…?"

"Don't worry about it, sweetie," Dad said, tangling our fingers together. I glanced at the lanterns sitting on the various shelves in slight puzzlement, but shook my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts from the weirdness of the day.

The only reason I kept my calm was because my parents and aunt hadn't gone into Uncontrollable Panic Mode. I glanced around, even up at the sky like Kushina was doing, then squeezed dad's hand to show him that I was fine. He smiled and patted my head.

Koyume tugged Kushina closer to us when she was drifting away from our small group.

"Is everyone ready?"

The women nodded while Kushina giggled again, babbling words and sentences that didn't make any sense to me.

"Mhm!" she suddenly exclaimed, surprising me by her loud voice. Koyume tightened her hold on Kushina, and my confusion only raised to higher levels.

..I really wanted to check Kushina's temperature. But alas, my urge died down the moment we started making our way to the river. I was finally going to find out what this festival was about, and the sheer number of people around us didn't help with my budding excitement. It was a change from the uncomfortable feeling I'd been having since we'd left the house.

Was it some kind of lantern viewing festival? _Everyone_ held a lantern while we all went down a large set of stairs towards to the riverbank. After a moment of standing and watching as people filtered on either sides of the path, mum let go of my hand. I sent her a puzzled look right before the adults bowed down their heads almost at the same time.

I was too confused by the whole situation to properly question their actions, and followed suit on reflex alone. I glanced at Kushina to see if she bowed with us, but she already marched towards the empty area in the middle between the adults, bravely standing with the other children, but her eyes were fixated at something in the air.

The steady movements of someone descending down the stairs caught my full attention, and I blinked my eyes their way.

Long, neon red hair swayed behind the beautiful man, his pale skin a perfect match to his expensive looking, deep crimson kimono, which was obviously made for his lean body. I tried looking up his blue rectangular hat that had the kanji for _Uzu_ written where the white triangle on the front was, but it somehow managed to hide half of his face while successfully showing off the bright smile that he had on his pink lips.

I wanted to see more of him, but dad put a hand on my back and nudged me forward towards the kids. It was pure luck I didn't lose my balance and trip by how sudden his actions were.

"Join them," he said with an encouraging smile, and I nodded at him in hesitation before I did just that. Everything had a reason with the Uzumaki. When I came closer to the middle, my blood ran cold, the whole festival situation momentarily forgotten.

It wasn't like I hated crowded areas or anything, but I was walking towards _children_.

After Kushina avenged her stolen hair strand almost a year ago, I was too wary of kids and their random urges. I was beginning to find it easy to predict the adults thanks to their quirky personalities that never changed. But children? I was nowhere close to figuring out that small enigma.

I focused on the white lantern in the pretty man's arms to stop thinking about where I was heading, and I soon was fascinated by the way he was cradling the item close to his heart, holding it like a dear person. It was almost like… he didn't want to let it go, but it was something that he had to do.

The lantern saddened me for some unknown reason, and I clutched the fabric of my kimono to stop myself from going back to the comfort of my parents' arms. I still glanced at them with my best imitation of the droopy, lost puppy look to make them feel a bit of guilt for not properly explaining what this whole festival was about.

The man halted his steps at the end of the stairs and smiled kindly at the children. I furrowed my eyebrows at their still strange behaviour before I looked at the man, intent on at least seeing his face. But I ended gulping down my raising nerves when his curious orange eyes found mine. He smiled and I awkwardly stumbled into a deep bow, my cheeks ablaze.

With an eye still trained on him while I slowly raised back to my height, I watched as he as he crossed the sea of children and stepped closed to the peaceful river. I thought he'd stop at the riverbank, but he surprised me when he moved forward and raised his clothed leg, walking on the surface of the water once the bare sole of his foot touched it.

The man's long kimono sunk into the clear liquid, making his once crimson outfit almost inky in colour. The new weight made the kimono slide to his elbows and I cringed as old, puffed up pink scars became visible on his bare shoulders.

Instead of going on the river to join him, the adults crouched down near the riverbank and gently put the lanterns on the water while the kids ran closer and waved at the sky. I joined them in curiosity, trying to find out what took away all of their focus but still keeping my eyes on the person standing on the river.

The man with the radiant smile and big hat, which I was sure was the leader's hat, turned around and walked in the same timed steps as beforeー

ーTowards me.

I held my breath.

"You…" he tilted his head to the side as his yellow eyesー they weren't orange, but a bright, golden yellowー settled on the happy children. "Can't see them?"

I looked at the ground in embarrassment. He was _really_ beautiful up close.

"… I don't understand what I'm supposed to see, Oji-san," I muttered, twiddling my fingers together as I squirmed.

"This is the first time I encounter a child unable to see our dead before their innocence has vanished," he said while I hesitantly grabbed onto his outstretched hand with my own tiny fingers. "How peculiar."

I couldn't help but squeak when I processed his words.

"The… The dead?" I asked fearfully, looking around in search for any floating souls. A shiver ran down my spine when I felt an eerie chill pass through me, so I stepped closer to the pretty man and shielded myself using him. He comforted me with a gentle hand.

"They… visit us on this day every five years. We help them find their way back to their realm with the lanterns. They work as a beacon they can follow and a chance for their loved ones to say goodbye. Sadly… only the children and I can see those who've passed away," he said with a gentle but sorrowful smile, as he coaxed me to step on the river.

Tendrils of chakra wrapped around my cold arm down to my toes, seeping under my skin and probing my chakra into work. I was too afraid of sinking into the water and getting swept away with the _spirits_ to freely admire his chakra control and how he was essentially using mine. Because I was, in a sense, a wandering spirit myself, and the thought of sinking felt dangerously real.

With a last tug, I moved onto the surface with shaky, deliberated steps.

"But I don't…" I whispered, my mind still in wonder as I walked next to the man, _on the surface of the river_ , with my hand in his much larger one. A glint made me take notice of the wedding ring on his finger and winced. "I just… can't."

"But we must still see them off," the man said, a sad smile playing on his lips. I looked quizzically at the lanterns as they were swept along the flow of the now moving river and billowing wind, making sure the man's fingers were securely held in my palm. He was the only reason I still hadn't sunk into the water.

Suddenly, a specific lantern caught my attention. It was the lantern that had been in the beautiful man's arms, and my eyes couldn't tear away from it. The setting sun reflected on the water and the small flickering fire inside of the paper got brighter. A small gasp escaped my parted lips when an orb of multicoloured fire formed above the white lantern.

The man chuckled as the shining orb completely left its home and came closer to my face, its fiery flickering lights illuminating my pale skin. _A will o' wisp_ , my mind marveled at the floating sphere. I brought up my free hand, feeling like I was in a trance, and touched it.

My palm came into contact with another, a hand that belonged to a woman I'd never seen in my entire life. She was a young Uzumaki who had some of hair tied up in a bun above her head, with the rest floating freely behind her. Her face only showed kindness and understanding as her glassy, fish-like eyes that appeared to be brown once upon a time, stared down at me.

"Wh- Who…?" I whispered, eyes widening as the woman put a hand over my cheek and smiled. She felt familiar, like she was a friend of mine whom I should have never forgotten. I _knew_ her, yet I didn't. It was like meeting myself after a lifetime of not knowing who I was.

Tears escaped my eyes when she directed the smile at the man standing next to me, and I finally noticed the matching rings on their fingers. The man patted my head when the soft faced woman silently giggled behind a palm, then she walked along with tens and hundreds of other spirits, who were equally, and a bit sadly, smiling at their family.

I couldn't look away, couldn't do anything as the spirits started fading one by one. I just stood there with the man rubbing my headー

ーAnd I **understood**.

The colours, they _united_ us. They showed that the adults were still in grief, still mourning the loss of their loved ones. Be it loss from battle, illness, or old age. The lack of black in our clothes, however, showed that they'd moved on, even if they were still nursing their wounds, they were content and happy and _so grateful_ for their ancestors' protection and guidance.

And the children with their bright colours and innocent smiles — _The hope_ , the love, the kindness theー

The man pulled me into his arms.

"There, there," he said as he carried me back to the riverbed. "You're a smart one, little orange."

I looked at him, eyes glossy from the overflowing tears.

"Who… Who are you Oji-san?" I asked, running the back of my hand over my eyes to wipe away the tears, regulating my breathing as a way to calm myself before I was taken away to my parents.

"You don't recognise the leader of your village? My, my, I'll have to make more public appearances, then."

I froze.

I was calling our leader _uncle_.

 _Oh goddamn_ _ー_

"Although I don't think I am old enough to be called 'oji-san'. I'm still young enough to be your _onii-sama_!" he laughed, grinning from ear to ear as the adults bowed down to him. His eyes were filled with mirth, the kind that twinkled when someone was saying an inside joke only they could understand.

My parents bowed down their heads in greeting once we were an arm's length away.

"Uzukage-sama, thank you for taking care of our daughter," dad said, bowing again, and the man gently ruffled my orange hair.

"I look forward to seeing the little one again," he said as mum took my hand in hers. I waved awkwardly at the man while my parents thanked him once again.

I just knew his words were serious, that he wasn't joking. He was going to be showing himself, and I was going to see him again. And soon.

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When the intense heat of the day proved to be too much to handle, most of my clansmen departed to the beach in united desperation. With our sweaty and sluggish bodies, we all listened to the weather's demands and threw ourselves into the nearest body of water in need of cooling our overheated selves.

My family didn't waste time and we soon arrived at the sandy beach before it was afternoon. Even though the sun wasn't in the middle of the sky, it was still beating down on us with its unbearable rays.

Dad quickly arranged an umbrella and mum unraveled straw mats so we could sit and shield ourselves from the unforgiving sun.

Even my chatty mum didn't attempt to hold a conversation because of the heat, but decided to use up the remaining energy in a straight sprint towards the open sea. Dad was more reluctant, each movement causing the heat of the day to enter deep into his tired bones, but still wanted to cool down his sweaty, golden skin in the cool water. It was a miracle none of us were panting for our breaths.

I did a couple of stretches underneath the umbrella as I watched my parents pull each other down. If there was a stamina bar above their heads, I imagined it'd be slowly filling up as their bodies cooled down. I snorted when dad dived underwater. While mum was a beast on solid ground, dad was in his natural habitat right now. He managed to yank her down with him, successfully winning their playful spar yet again.

Stretching sideways, I let my eyes wander to the people. It didn't take anything more than the Uzukage to grab my full attention, with the way he dragged his legs in the most elegant fashion I could've possibly seen, with Kushina and my aunt not too far behind him. The impossibly energetic girl waved towards me when our eyes met, and I put in a lot of effort to greet her back with a welcoming smile.

My eyes quickly found the man again. He was put his fold-able chair along with a box of supplies on a rock where he could oversee everyone's activities, and I took a moment to appreciate his sense of leadership as he propelled himself on a beach chair under a white umbrella.

The Uzukage visibly relaxed into his chair after he unzipped his jacket and put his legs up on a stone, sinking into his seat and tilting his head upwards, closing his eyes for a moment as he took a deep, calming breath.

My waist painfully strained when I leaned to the left side, forcing my body to bend sideways and touched the sand with my fingers, just as the Uzukage touched a seal on the scroll he'd brought with him, catching a feminine looking hat and heart-shaped glasses from it. He put them on as he unsealed a purple drink, which was cold judging from the small beads of water that slid down the outside of the transparent glass.

Once he took a sip and smiled at all of us, I knew the Uzukage had just reached the pinnacle of his day.

"Over here!" I called out once Koyume-obacchan was at earshot, putting a hand up in the air so my aunt and cousin could see me. There were a lot of people still making bases on the beach, hoping to start their water activities as soon as possible.

Kushina grip on the picnic basket tightened. She took bigger steps towards our umbrella, with Koyume-obacchan trailing right behind her.

My cousin dropped the basket, which got caught before it could reach the ground by a smiling Koyume, and caught my arms in a firm hold. My smile matched Koyume's - It was both loving and exasperated, with _a lot_ of acceptance sprinkled into it. Kushina would always be Kushina no matter what, after all.

"With me. Now," Kushina said, already tugging me behind her. I let her lead me, pointing at my parents' general direction when Koyume glanced around for them.

"Good morning, they're there, goodbye!" I yelled, and my aunt waved at me before I saw her sprint towards my parents in her swimsuit. I giggled when Koyume cannon-balled between them and somehow dragged them both underwater, holding them there until they flailed their arms in defeat.

"Your mum just destroyed my parents, Kushina-chan." I grinned, shifting our hands so I could comfortably hold hers. It looked like her destination was a large rock that concealed the other area of the beach. The area was empty of people, only the random passerby making their ways to the main part of the beach.

"As expected." she snorted, still walking. I raised an eyebrow at her obvious dismissal. That was _new_. I stopped in my tracks, slowly trickling some chakra into my muscles just like my parents had taught me, and made Kushina almost trip by the sudden weight that tugged her backwards.

"Tell me your plan of action, co-captain." I stopped her from running away with a mock-glare.

"There's no plan, captain. Just come with me?" she said, using my ultimate weakness to get her wayー The puppy-eyes that I'd promised myself to become immune to, but actually epicly failed to do so.

"I love you a lot, Kushina-chan, but if it's something that could possibly get me on my parents' bad side, then I'm ditching you without looking back." I pointed at her. While she knew my threat was serious, it was embarrassing how she had manipulated me into agreeing without breaking a sweat.

I fear for my future self from Kushina.

"I can feel the love— It's so pure I think my next tooth is going to rot and fall," she said, grinning while pushing my finger away.

"Don't sass me."

Sticking out her tongue, Kushina started walking again, but didn't drag me behind her like earlier. We moved with our shoulders almost touching instead, and I glanced at Kushina with a heart too heavy for my small body.

She was growing up too fast, and the massacre grew closer with each passing month. My expression turned sour and I averted my gaze towards the rocky road ahead, adamant on not thinking any further about the future. I wanted to live in the _now_ while doing my best for the future, not dwell on endless possibilities that 'might' happen.

But there was one thing that I was sure of— I wanted to tell Kushina everything I knew.

Kushina would leave the village to a safer place where she could use what I'd tell her to keep herself safe and alive in case I couldn't live to watch her grow older and stronger. While I thought it was something I had to do for her sake, my heart stopped me from taking that large step and answer her questions of _why_ , exactly, was I trying so hard when we weren't academy students yet. She kept wanting to understand me, but I never took the big step of letting her in on every secret I had.

And… the pressure of what I knew could possibly hold her down from going forward, could pressure her rather than be of help. Her innocence would vanish, and I absolutely didn't want that to happen. Some might think I was playing God, but I was a selfish girl who'd go through with my plan and tell her. Maybe not now, but some time in the near future for sure.

My line of thought was cut short the moment we went up the rocky path and walked towards a small cliff. I blinked once, twice, thriceー

Standing next to Keiichi were three teens conversing heatedly to each other. One of them appeared to be soft spoken, his voice not travelling far like the two other girls' as he bowed his head in apology to one of them, uneasy smile barely visible on his lips.

Shock froze me because of the uncanny likeness to the Uzukage the timid-looking teen had, with the same neon-red hair and yellow eyes, both dim compared to the Uzukage's bright colours. Although, they both had the same tall and lean body type. The only difference was how the teen held himself, with his hunched back and bouncing eyes. His discomfort was obviousー he looked like he wanted nothing more than to disappear into the background.

He was, without no doubt, the son of the Uzukage. The description of him given by my aunt fit too perfectly for him to be a random relative.

A loud whistle made me put a hand over my ear, grimacing at the sound. Kushina blowed again as she brought attention of the the teens and Keiichi towards her.

"I brought her," Kushina announced, opting to drag me to the circle when I didn't move. Couldn't move. I looked at her for help, wanting her to explain to me why teens were the ones waiting for us, but the girl only smiled innocently. I shot her an exasperated glare before dipping my head down in greeting, wanting to get introductions over with.

"I'm Kayo, nice to meet you. Hi Keiichi-kun," I said in a clear voice, trying to keep a friendly expression on while Keiichi stepped closer.

"Hello, Kayo-chan, Kushina-chan." he tilted his head to the left, not an emotion visible on his face. A squeak left Kushina's mouth and I could almost see her storm-grey eyes sparkle with joy. She twirled away and hopped into Keiichi's arms that opened in reflex. She latched herself to him, causing the boy's glasses to slide down his nose.

"Neechan was being mean to me, Oniichan~!" she said, but her face wasn't frowning but

"Don't shout, Kushina," I said in reflex, glancing at the, if I wasn't wrong, Uzukage's son, who shyly hid his chuckles at the display that was unraveling before him.

Kushina didn't pay any kind of attention to the eyes that were trained on us, though, and kept hugging the life out of Keiichi. He somehow managed to keep himself upright even with her added weight, calculatively patting her back in a way that felt mechanic and hollow. But since I knew Keiichi for who he was, I could imagine a smile that showed all of his front teeth instead of the thin line his lips were permanently stuck in.

Really though… I did not blame her for clinging to him.

Keiichi was a very huggable boy.

"Thank you for coming," he said with a bright and welcoming voice as he propped his glasses back atop his thin nose. "I did not doubt Kushina-chan would be capable of leading you here."

This guy… He was purposefully rubbing at my weakness against Kushina.

As expected, he put his nose up in the air, looking down at her. But that movement by itself showed how cheeky he was being. I tapped my chin while mock-glaring at him, trying my best not to get swept into the tides of the energetic Uzumaki chakra flooding out of Kushina and Keiichi.

"Mind telling me why I'm here?" I asked to get back into track, nodding at the rest of the kids. Keiichi looked like he was about to reply but was quickly interrupted by one of the strangers.

"We're interested about the upcoming war," the teen with her low hanging, bright red pigtails said matter-of-factly, flipping one of her long cowlicks with a delicate hand. She looked to be around thirteen years old, with her happy grins and cat-like eyes. But not even her inviting voice could have stopped my heart from skipping a beat at her admission.

Why was she so sure _**I**_ had any knowledge about the upcoming war? The topic of war was as common as talking about the weather nowadays because everyone tended to fret over politics whenever they thought us kids weren't listening. _So why me, specifically?_ My mind shrieked as I barely stopped myself from running away from their stares. _Why._ _ **Me**_ _._

"Hello, still with me?" the girl said, swiping a hand in front of my face. She gestured at both my cousin and my friend when she was sure she was the centre of attention again. "Kushina-chan told Keiichi-kun who told his sister who told us about how you're always working hard to prepare for ' _something'_. She's not here cause she's not interested, though." One of her fingers flew to point at the timid teen as she scowled up at him, "And Kenma-sama found out by chance. At least he didn't rat on us. He wasn't useless _this_ time, at least."

"That's… That's so mean, Natsuki-chan" Kenma muttered, rubbing his upper arm with his hand.

"Get some backbone, Kenma-sama! I can't keep looking after you," she snapped, poking his stomach with a bony elbow, her flowery summer dress fluttering along with her movement. I lightly laughed at them, still overwhelmed by the bomb that was their theory about me.

"Calm down, Natsuki-san. Keiichi-kun said there's still a margin of failure for his prediction," another girl softly spoke up. She had pixie-cut dark red hair and round eyes, and looked about the same age as Natsuki. What stood out the most to me was her long, vibrant red eyelashes.

"Shut it, Irie."

"Uhm, can someone explain to me why… why you think I know something about the war?" I said, fiddling with my fingers in an attempt to not look at anyone, whose eyes quickly focused on me. I was at least glad I'd stopped them from fighting.

"When I factored in your training ethics and the song you've taught us and how weary you get from the war topics, I figured you know something, Kayo-chan. It's simple deduction," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I didn't dare to voice any of my thoughts, stilling in my place while Kushina puffed out a cheek.

"We know you're up to something, neechan. You trust us, don't you? Just spit it out~!"

Kushina put her arms on her waist to empathise the fact that she wouldn't back down from this, followed by the two girls silently judging, then by Keiichi staring right at me with his blank eyes. I pulled in my shoulders, trying to fold into myself while my eyes strayed to Kenma, who looked at the kids and shyly put his arms up in a calming gesture.

"H-Hey, guys, let's all calm down. I'm sure this is troublesome for Kayo-chan. Let's give her some space, okay?" he said, smiling at everyone. Natsuki clicked her tongue and glared at him, but the timid teen surprisingly didn't back down.

The phrase ' _don't judge a book by its cover_ ' came into my mind as I could see Kenma in a more positive light thanks to this gesture, that he wasn't the timid boy I'd had initially thought him to be. Something about the lines of his set jaw and intense eyes gave the impression of subtle confidence that his hunched shoulders would have made it impossible to see at first glance.

With a toothy, but still hesitant grin aimed at me as the girls' apology was drowned by the sound of the crashing waves, I began to seriously consider what I could or couldn't tell these kids.

But… what could we, as children, do about it? How could we help without involving the adults, who might think I had a very active imagination? I didn't think I was ready to tell people I'd just met about my reincarnationー That knowledge was reserved to Kushina.

"This is a waste of time," Natsuki said as she twirled her hair in disinterest, obviously disappointed. I pursed my lips, wanting to say something but not knowing what to tell them, holding their gazes with a straight back and mind running a mile a minute.

"Keiichi-kun isn't omnipotent, Natsuki-san. He's already told us he could be wrong."

"Girls shouldn't fight with each other!"

I allowed Kushina's voice to be an anchor as I mulled over every possibility I could think of. The only thing I was sure of in the sea of scenarios playing in my mind was that if I let this opportunity slip, if I didn't tell them _anything_ , I'd bite my nails in regret. That feeling was something I wanted to avoid at all costs. So with all the seriousness my childish voice could hold, I spoke up, looking directly at Kenma.

"No, Keiichi-kun is right. I do know something." I crossed my arms, leaning on my left leg. "I'm not sure if you'll believe me, though."

"Ha! He wasn't wrong. Don't doubt my niichan!" Kushina grinned, punching the air above her in victory. Keiichi put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down while my staring battle with the short-haired girl, Irie, and Natsuki continued.

"We're ninja, we've seen weird things," she simply said with a shrug, as if being a ninja was enough. "Try us."

We were both challenging each other. I was hoping they wouldn't question what I was about to tell them, while she didn't believe I held any kind of notable information. Good thing I wasn't a child, in the mental sense. I wanted the future to change, not attention, so I wasn't baited by her.

"I can't imagine you know anything… Honestly speaking, I'm only here because Kenma-sama is," the girl with the pixie cut hair said. I crossed my arms. I had a bit more hope now, so I didn't want to back down after I'd made this step. Closing my eyes to I wouldn't have to face them, I took a deep breath.

"... I saw the future," I said, trying to articulate every word properly so I wouldn't be misunderstood. At least it wasn't a lie. "And I've seen the clan dead."

"... Huh?" Kushina voiced what everyone was too stunned to say. My breath hitched as I tried not to let the burn in my eyes win. The weight that was lifted from my chest at admitting a portion of my secret was replaced by suffocation under their unblinking stares.

"I-" Keiichi's words stopped somewhere in his throat, his face painted with so much emotion I previously didn't know was possible for him to show. "... That's not what I've expected…"

A contemplative Kenma pinched his chin. "That's crazier than what I'd imagined, but not entirely unbelievable" he said, raising a vibrant red eyebrow. "We have records of Uzumaki having chakra so in tune with nature, it would give them glimpses of things to come. But it has been said it wasn't clear enough to follow, but make them have a feeling of what they should or shouldn't do."

"Seers?" I said in surprise. I was a reincarnation, though, it shouldn't be too strange to have people who could predict the future in this universe. I lightly shook my head. "It's… something like that. I only ask you to believe me when I say I know our clan dies as an aftermath of the war. But… I don't know when or how." I tugged at my clothes. "Only the why- We're going to be targeted because other countries fear our seals."

"What a load of crap!" Natsuki scoffed and crossed her arms. "Don't tell me you actually believe her, Kenma-sama?"

"I agree with Natsuki-san for once. It's very unlikely," Irie said, narrowing her eyes.

"But it's not unheard of…" he said, sighing as he closed his eyes for a moment. "What else have you seen? Other than our clan's doom."

My eyes involuntarily snapped towards Kushina's still surprised face. Kenma caught on and his head tilted, calculative eyes going back to meet mine when I found myself trying to hide how I looked at her when he'd asked that.

"Uhm," I stuttered, staring at his sandals, hoping he wouldn't notice I was avoiding his questioning stare. "Uzushiogakure won't have any residents after the war, and those who survive will be scattered across the Elemental Nations. Our home will be too ruined for them to return to. That's, that's the only thing I know about future in a few-" My breath hitched, remembering Kushina's age. "-Months, a year at most."

"Uzushio taking damage in the war isn't a baseless worry, so our home getting… It's not impossible for it to fall, but that timeframe is too small... Especially when Konoha hasn't stationed units here yet," Keiichi muttered, addressing himself rather than the people around him, seemingly forgetting that he was with us. "Now that I think about it, we haven't traded with any ships lately, so we might run out of supplies at the worst possible time…"

The older boy looked like he needed some time to swallow the information, becoming paler by the minute. Kushina glanced at him, worry itching her face, before she easily wrapped her arms around me, aiming her wide eyes and pinched eyebrows at me.

"I don't exactly get what's going on, but if this is the reason you're always trying hard, then it goes without saying that I trust your words 'ttebane," she said, pursing her lips in determination. "I promise to follow whatever plans you come up with no matter how crazy they'll be."

Left with a loudly beating heart while I processed as my chest felt like it was about to burst, a wobbly smile broke my lips. "They're… They're not _that_ crazy."

"We'll never run out of seals!" Natsuki's voice raised, gathering our collective attention. She was speaking directly at Kenma, scowling at him. "I don't get what you're worried about. I can make something that can destroy a ship with my blood and one finger," Natsuki said, words filled with confidence only an Uzumaki could have for their seals.

"You know that's not true, Natsuki-chan." Kenma frowned. "While they're a strong weapon, we both know a drop of water is enough to ruin any type of seal. If you haven't noticed, we're surrounded by it on the island. Let's say her words are true, then we'll get attacked _because_ of them. Our dependence on seals might as well be our death warrant. We should be looking at other ways to defend our home other than seals," he firmly said, looking at every one of us as he stated his opinion. My eyes darted across his face as he spoke with a crooked smile, "Is that all you wanted to tell us, Kayo-chan?"

I nodded, unable to break our eye contact with him.

"I'll admit that I'm half convinced," he said and my breath hitched, unable to form any coherent words as the overwhelming feeling of newfound hope suffocated me. "If a future without our home is a possibility, I can't shrug at any information that I come across."

"If Kenma-sama says so… I'll lend a helping hand as well. For now," Irie said, fidgeting as she stole glances at Kenma from underneath her long eyelashes.

"W-Well, I'll always follow you no matter how weird your beliefs are, Kenma-sama! But you better not be joking, Carrot-head."

"Was it even something to think about?" Kushina asked, glaring at them, her arms still wrapped protectively around neck.

"I'll ask my dad about Konoha and our supplies, see if he has anything to add," Kenma said. "In exchange for the things you've told us, I'll share something only a me and a handful of people know about." He crossed his arms, tiling his head at Kushina and I. "I think this should be known by you two beforehand. You're going to participate, after all."

"Don't tell me, it's _that?_ Didn't Uzukage-sama want it to be a surprise since it's the first time you'll be leading a ceremony that big?" Irie said in surprise and Kenma shrugged a bit _too_ innocently. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him, though… I didn't want to be in the spotlight anyways. He forced me into agreeing," he said, scratching the back of his neck with a closed-eye smile. Natsuki crossed her arms.

"That's irresponsible! There's a high chance you're going to be the next Uzukage because of your ability, so don't try to run away from your obligations," she scolded, glaring at Kenma, who apologised instinctively at her tone.

"Ah… I think I know. The children haven't gotten their chakra checked yet this year. I was Kayo-chan and Kushina-chan's age when they researched mine," Keiichi, who was being quiet until now, spoke up as he adjusted his glasses, the gleam in his eyes returning.

"Checking our chakra? What for?"

"I'm getting there, Kushina-chan." Kenma smiled at her. "It's like Keiichi-kun said- but before I start, do you guys know what 'Kekkei Genkai' means?"

"Mummy told me it's like a superpower. Like those heroes in books!" Kushina exclaimed in excitement, finally finding something she fully understood. Natsuki blinked at my cousin.

"You've got books? We've only got a few on our shelves. Papa said they're hard to get since it's not easy to manufacture them. Something about writing is a pain in the ass."

"Language, Natsuki-san. And it's hard to get books because printing them takes time, and the lack of interest in importing them from other nations doesn't help either. Frankly, books are a waste if you can personally go on adventures. Paper is best used for Jutsu scrolls," Irie said, putting on an air of superiority. Before Natsuki could retort, Kenma made a barrier between the two girls using his arms, chuckling as he stopped them from fighting.

"While our clan typically has large chakra capacity at birth, a baby might have a hidden quirk alongside that. Though some of them can be life threatening, so it falls on the Uzukage to discover if a child has it or not." He scratched the back of his head, smiling lightly at us. "My dad used to make this complicated seal until he discovered my quirk."

The girls knew this already from the looks of it, while Keiichi seemed uninterested since it appeared like he'd already done that ceremony. Kushina and I were obviously the only one intently listening to him. I was beyond curious about Kenma's quirk. The teen coughed into his fist.

"Anyways," the teen continued, "Because not many childbirths happened this year, the task of finding children's abilities fell on me as a test to see how reliable my quirk is, someone whose chakra reacts to the second quirk. A ceremony will be held in a week's time to check the quirks of children your age, unlike the previous times where they were taken at random times to find out what their special chakra was."

At Kenma's admission, Keiichi's eyes gained a spark of curiosity.

"... That's really amazing," the boy said, awe filling every note in his voice.

"As expected of Kenma-sama. This information never fails to amaze me," Irie said, smiling at the teen.

"Stop saying that, Irie-chan… I'll get stage fright," Kenma said, tone wavering. "But, uhm, that concludes what I have to say. Don't tell anyone, though. It's supposed to be a secret, just like how I won't mention Kayo-chan's possible seer abilities to my dad."

"Umu, I understand. So we're going to see if we have cool superpowers next week, I can't tell mummy about it, and I might not have a superpower?"

"Yes, Kushina-chan," I said, and the girl shrugged.

"Okay. The last thing is uncool, but whatever! Seeing everyone's superpowers sound amazing 'ttebane. Can you guys give me a strand of your hair now? I'm making this super cute bracelet-"

Natsuki suddenly froze mid-nod, followed by Irie and Kenma's bodies stiffening in response to her reaction. Their lightly tanned skins became a shade lighter, and Irie looked fearfully at Natsuki.

"Truce?" she quickly said, and Natsuki sealed the deal with a handshake.

"Of course! I can't handle your crazy older brother."

But they weren't fast enough, it seemed, because at that moment, a guy who looked to be in his mid-twenties was running towards us at his top speed, which was admittedly not that fast, and his steps were audible even from a distance. He probably wasn't a ninja, I concluded.

"Irie! You **KNOW** this place is off-limits!" the man shouted, startling me with his loud voice. I didn't expect it to travel this well from how far he was. He must have extremely strong lungs.

"Shi-" Natsuki started, and Irie quickly slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Language. Run!"

She pushed Natsuki away, who didn't have anywhere to go, sliding down the cliff in panic. I winced at the sound of her shriek. Her sandals looked thin- which were the exact opposite of the ones made for ninjas so they wouldn't hurt their feet from the running and jumping they did.

" _How_ does he always find me?!" Irie hissed, looking like she couldn't choose whether to escape alone or grab Kenma and run.

The teen was slightly smiling, but the corners of his lips pulled in obvious tension. "We're screwed if he catches us, y'know."

But if they were screwed, then what did that make Keiichi, Kushina, and me?

ーOn a second glance, never mind that. Keiichi had already vanished with Kushina. My lower lip puffed out unconsciously. Those, those traitors! I didn't dwell on their betrayal and looked around me for an escape route. I was the daughter of two ninjas! I didn't need their help.

Before I could make my grand escape, the man appeared in front of me. I avoided bumping into him only thanks to the reflexes my mother had ingrained into me from her seal-dance training, and quickly tried thinking of ways not to get caught by him.

"You're not a bad girl, Irie-chan! Why do you always cause trouble for your big brother?" the man, who didn't break a sweat running up the small hill, wailed, tears freely falling down his angular face. Because of how he looked and the lack of heavy breathing, my previous assumption about him being a civilian almost disappeared- Almost, because he simply didn't give off the feeling of a ninja, but he certainly acted like one.

In a show of true agility, Irie lept in the air, flipped, and stepped right on the man's face, deciding that her escape was more important than helping Kenma. I felt too bad for the teen to leave him alone with Irie's older brother, who seemed too… out of the top to be left alone with him.

"I am… a lifeguard! Kicking me won't stop me from delivering law!" the man shouted to the skies, but Kenma followed Irie's example and stepped hard on the man's back to stop him from getting up.

The man gave a groan as his cheek met the rocks underneath him.

"Wh-Why are _you_ here…?" he said, looking up at Kenma from the corner of his eye, his face stricken in horror.

"Sorry, Oyaji. I don't want to tell you."

Kenma vanished in a blink of an eye after applying some chakra on the soles of his feet, the man giving another groan as the energy traveled across his back.

Shrugging at no one in particular, I tentatively avoided the man's long limbs and walked past him, the need to run away vanishing along with the man's will to move.

.

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* * *

.

.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Kayo-nee! Keiichi-niichan grabbed my hand and I grabbed his and tried grabbing yours but Natsuki-neesan was in front of me before I could reach you and then he said sorry to you even though you wouldn't hear and we went down the hill like _woosh_ and _weesh_ and it happened _so_ fast!"

"Breathe,"

"... I'm sorry."

"It's okay, no harm done. But if you ever leave me again like that, I won't share my candy anymore."

"No! I'm _so_ sorry! Please don't do that!"

"It's Keiichi-kun's fault for taking you without me, anyways."

"Mhm... What do you have in mind?"

I grinned, a perfect reflection of Kushina's cheshire smile.

.

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* * *

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 **Long A/N ahead!**

While the pace seems slow, some scenes are important to the overall feel of the fic and plot, so I think they're necessary to it, ( _They're sometimes for my own amusement, too, since fanfics are supposed to be the author's guilty pleasure dump_ ), like how I introduced the Uzukage for the sake of his son, and * **spoiler** * for something _way_ later in the plot. ( _That probably didn't need a spoiler tag, but whatever._ )

Chapter lengths are going to be like this as long as I feel it's necessary. I do plan on polishing the fic after it's done and when I have more time, which includes pacing and scenes that don't match or need tweaking, according to my readers and my own muse.

( _ **Another thought**_ _; while you probably heard this from many authors before, but I truly don't plan on abandoning my child. I might take my time with finishing this because of my IRL responsibilities and hardcore procrastination, but I hope this fic is interesting enough to make you stick until it's done_ _ー_ _to see it grow with me.)_

As usual, I'll put the obligatory apology here; Sorry for being late again! But this year was the definition of shitty. Although I'm trying to keep the habit of daily writing, I always get distracted with plot bunnies and other stories. E.g. My SAO fanfic, and fics for other fandoms that I might post here if I properly make plans for them~

Again, my problem with this story is having a visual road, but not knowing how to avoid the rocks on the way and smoothly write how the journey on that road was for the characters. Any advice for this? I'm new to writing, so I'll be glad if someone pointed me into the right direction. Tiny advices from all readers could become a huge pile of words I can go back to when I'm unsure.

 **Notes:**

Festival name in the first part is a real thing done in Japan, it's called Tōrō Nagashi, Lanterns on the River. Taken directly from an article (I copied without bookmarking the page and I can't find it anymore, forgive me):

 _Tōrō_ _is written in Japanese with the characters for_ _ **tō**_ _(_ _ **灯**_ _, light) and_ _ **rō**_ _(_ _ **籠**_ _, basket)._

 _In Japan, it is traditional to worship or revere one's ancestors, a principle known as_ _sorei shinkō_ _("reverence toward one's ancestors")._

 **New Character Names:**

 **。** Kenma ( **けんま** ): Written using 'Polish', togu ( **研** **/** **とぐ** ), and 'Improve', miga ( **磨** **/** **みが** ).

 **。** Irie ( **いりえ** ): Written using 'Enter', iri ( **入** **/** **いり** ), and 'creek', e ( **江** **/** **え** ).

I picked this name because of the fact that they meet in a cove-like area at the edge of a cliff. It could also mean Saltwater Crocodile if you say iriewani ( **入江鰐** **/** **いりえわに** ).

 **。** Natsuki ( **なつき** ): Written using 'Summer', natsu ( **夏** **/** **なつ** ), the hiragana tsu ( **つ** ), and 'Seasons', ki ( **季** **/** **き** ).

Her name literally means Summer Season… y'know, cause they're meeting in the summer… _(I'm_ _ **so**_ _original with names!)_


End file.
